Here Are The James Beard Foundation Semifinalists From L.A. In The Running For 'The Oscars Of Food'

Here in the food world awards season starts and ends with the James Beard Awards.

Covering all aspects of the industry — from chefs and restaurateurs to cookbook authors and food journalists to restaurant designers and architects and more — the awards are presented each spring at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in NYC.

L.A. made a decent showing this year with their semifinalist nominations. What's particularly cool is that nearly half of the semifinalists for the Outstanding Chef category are female. That's some serious girl power in an industry that's traditionally dominated by men.

Here's a list of who's in the running from L.A. The finalists will be announced on Tuesday, March 18. You can see a full list of semifinalists from across the country here.

Best New Restaurant

Chi Spacca, Los Angeles
Connie and Ted’s, West Hollywood, CA
Trois Mec, Los Angeles

Outstanding Bar Program

Rivera, Los Angeles
The Varnish, Los Angeles

Outstanding Chef

Suzanne Goin, Lucques, West Hollywood, CA
Nancy Silverton, Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles

Outstanding Pastry Chef

Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles

Outstanding Restaurant

Mélisse, Santa Monica, CA

Outstanding Restaurateur

Caroline Styne, West Hollywood, CA (Lucques, A.O.C., Tavern, and others)

Outstanding Service

Lucques, West Hollywood, CA
Providence, Los Angeles

Outstanding Wine Program

Spago, Beverly Hills, CA

Rising Star Chef of the Year

Casey Lane, Tasting Kitchen, Venice, CA
Ari Taymor, Alma, Los Angeles
Chef Eduardo Ruiz of Corazon y Miel, Bell, CA

Best Chef: West

Josef Centeno, Bäco Mercat, Los Angeles
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Ludo Lefebvre, Trois Mec, Los Angeles
David LeFevre, MB Post, Manhattan Beach, CA
Niki Nakayama, n/naka, Los Angeles
John Rivera Sedlar, Rivera, Los Angeles
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal, Los Angeles
Ricardo Zarate, Picca, Los Angeles