James Beard Awards elude Georgia chefs and restaurants this year

Mashama Bailey / Photo by Cedric Smith

Credit: Cedric Smith

Credit: Cedric Smith

Mashama Bailey / Photo by Cedric Smith

The Georgia chefs and restaurants that were up for James Beard Foundation Awards this year will come home empty-handed.

Kimball House lost out to Cure in New Orleans while Rodney Scott of Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston beat out Bailey at the awards held Monday night in Chicago.

The ceremony, akin to the the Oscars of the culinary world, celebrated the accomplishments of chefs and restaurants throughout the U.S.

Georgia had light representation when the 2018 finalists were announced in March , following a semifinalist roster that included several Atlantans, including  Ryan Smith of Staplehouse , Atsushi Hayakawa of Sushi Hayakawa , Meherwan Irani of Chai Pani in Decatur and Asheville, N.C. and Ri Liu of Masterpiece in Duluth .

Atlantans or those with Atlanta ties were also named semifinalists in the Outstanding Baker and Wine Program, Rising Star Chef of Year, Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Restaurateur categories.

Shane Mitchell won an MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award last month at the James Beard Media Awards for a piece she wrote for Atlanta-based publication The Bitter Southerner, while AJC food writer Wyatt Williams received a nomination for the same award for a piece he wrote for the Oxford American.

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