Seven St. Louis-area restaurateurs, chefs, bakers and other professionals in the food and beverage industry have received James Beard Foundation semifinalist nominations. Many of the nominees are repeat semifinalists or past award winners, and the recognition spans from restaurateurs to chefs, beverage professionals, bakers and more.
Gerard Craft, the executive chef and restaurateur behind Niche Food Group’s many concepts such as Brasserie, Pastaria, None of the Above, Fordo’s Killer Pizza and others, has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur. So far, Craft has been nominated for Best Chef, Midwest six times throughout his career and in 2015 Craft received the Best Chef, Midwest award.
Loryn Nalic, of Balkan Treat Box, Telva at the Ridge, and more has once again been nominated for Best Chef, Midwest. Nalic is a four-time James Beard semifinalist, and received the Best Chef, Midwest nomination in 2024, 2023 and 2020.
Also nominated for Best Chef, Midwest is Nick Bognar, of Sado, Indo and the newly opened Pavilion. Like Nalic, Bognar is no stranger to James Beard nominations, as Bognar was a semifinalist in 2023 in the Best Chef, Midwest, category and received Rising Star Chef of the Year semifinalist nominations in 2019 and 2020. His first restaurant, Indo, was a Best New Restaurant semifinalist in 2020.
Jane Sacro Chatham, chef de cuisine at Vicia, and was also a Sauce Ones to Watch in 2020, has been nominated for Emerging Chef. Chatham has been a part of Vicia since it opened in 2017. Originally from the Philippines, Chatham attended St. Louis Community College and started her culinary career as a line chef.
Nathaniel Reid Bakery in Kirkwood has received a nod for Outstanding Bakery, and the baker-owner the business is named after, Nathaniel Reid, is a two-time James Beard Awards semifinalist for Outstanding Baker, in 2019 and 2020. Serving up a delicious variety of breakfast treats, cakes and pastries as well as sandwiches, the bakery is on Sauce’s list of 75 essential restaurants.
Natasha Bahrami, of The Gin Room, has been nominated for the Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service. The Gin Room was also an Outstanding Bar semifinalist in 2023. In addition to the bar, Bahrami is also behind Salve Osteria, an Italian restaurant concept that shares a building with The Gin Room.
Another St. Louis area professional, Alisha Blackwell-Calvert, the beverage director at Madrina is also an Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service semifinalist. Blackwell-Calvert is an Advanced Sommelier, and has received numerous previous honors from wine industry publications, including Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Sommelier of the Year 2021 Wine Star Award nominee.
Scratch Brewing’s Marika Josephson and Aaron Kleidon were also nominated Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service. The co-owners of the Southern Illinois brewery also received a semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Beer, Wine and Spirit Producer in 2020. Scratch was also a semi-finalist for Outstanding Bar in 2022 and 2023.
2025 marks the 35th anniversary for the prestigious awards, which are considered to be among the nation’s most honored awards in the industry. The James Beard Awards recognize exceptional talent in the culinary and food media industries, and highlight equity and sustainability in the industry.
Shortlists for the final round in each category will be announced on Wednesday, April 2, and winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16, in Chicago.
This article appears in December 2024.