Decatur Restaurants Make James Beard Award Semifinalist List

A pair of Decatur restaurants have earned high praise from the prestigious James Beard Foundation, receiving nominations for the James Beard Foundation Award, unofficially called “The Oscars of Food.”

According to the foundation, Decatur’s Kimball House has been nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Bar Program in a field which includes 19 other restaurants in far-flung locales such as San Francisco, Chicago, Brooklyn, Washington D.C., and New Orleans.

Meanwhile, Chef Billy Allin of Cakes & Ale is in the running for the coveted “Best Chef: Southeast” award. Allin faces stiff competition from Atlanta chefs Kevin Gillespe of Gunshow, Todd Ginsburg of The General Muir, and Steven Satterfield of Miller Union. In total, 21 chefs in region are vying for the award.

The James Beard Foundation Award was established in 1990 to recognize the best cuisine, culinary educators, and culinary writers in the American food landscape. For the awards class of 2015, a team of writers, critics, and editors pared down a list of some 35,000 submissions to determine the semifinalists, which were announced Wednesday.

On March 24, the foundation will announce the list of five finalists for each of the 21 award categories, as decided by a panel of former award winners, regional panelists, and members of the Restaurant and Chef Award Committee.

The awards gala will be held on May 4 in Chicago.