Aaron Silverman of Rose's Luxury on Barracks Row and Peter Chang of Peter Chang in Arlington lead the way for D.C. in this year's James Beard Awards. The finalists were revealed today in a ceremony in San Francisco. The list of area representation, whittled down from the semifinalists announced in February, is as follows:
- Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic: Aaron Silverman, Rose's Luxury; Peter Chang, Peter Chang
- Outstanding Baker: Mark Furstenberg, Bread Furst
- Food-Related Columns: Todd Kliman of Washingtonian for his "Otherwise" column
- Dining and Travel Writing: Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post for his "10 Best Food Cities" series
- M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award: Todd Kliman, writing in Lucky Peach, about his life with pork
It's the second straight nomination for Furstenberg and the first time Silverman and Chang have been finalists. Rose's Luxury was a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2014.
Last year, no D.C. chefs were final nominees in the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic category. This year, Silverman and Chang will compete against three Philadelphia chefs.
Find the full list of finalists here. Restaurant and chef winners will be named on May 2 in Chicago. A separate ceremony for book, broadcast, and journalism award winners takes place in New York on April 26.