Dogfish's Calagione, chef Cameron up for 'Oscars of food'
Delaware got some love again Wednesday morning from the James Beard Foundation with two Sussex County restaurateurs being named as semifinalists for the country's most prestigious culinary awards.
For the sixth year in a row, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Beer is a semifinalist in the Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional category. The award is given to a beer, wine or spirits professional who has made a significant national impact on the restaurant industry.
Calagione and his wife Mariah founded the craft brewery, now in Milton, in 1995. The couple also owns Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats in Rehoboth Beach and will open a new Rehoboth Avenue seafood restaurant Chesapeake & Maine in March. It's next door to Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats.
Calagione has gone on to become a finalist for the Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional award every year he has been nominated. It's not unusual to be honored with repeat Beard nominations. New York Chef Wylie Dufresne had seven consecutive nominations before he won an award in 2013.
Dogfish Head, via Facebook, wrote: "We're proud to represent Delaware and the craft beer community! Cheers."
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Chef/restaurateur Hari Cameron of a(MUSE.), a modern American eatery in Rehoboth, is a semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. This category is considered one of the most competitive in the Beard Awards because it honors talented chefs from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and the Washington, D.C. area. Only chefs who have worked in the region for three years or more are considered for the award.
Cameron, known for his innovative cooking, was a semifinalist in 2015 and has previously been a semifinalist for the Rising Star Chef of the Year award. The honor is given to a chef age 30 or younger who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to make a significant impact on the industry in years to come.
Cameron also owns grandpa (MAC), a Rehoboth pasta eatery on Baltimore Avenue, near a(MUSE.).
"It is a great honor to represent the first state. Congratulations to all of the nominated food service professionals!," Cameron said via Facebook.
The Beard Awards are considered among the most prestigious honors food and beverage professionals can receive in the United States.
In 2014, Sussex County's Matt Haley became the first Delaware restaurateur to receive a Beard medal. He died in a motor accident three months after receiving the Humanitarian of the Year honor. Haley of Rehoboth owned and operated eight Sussex County beach town restaurants under his SoDel Concepts umbrella group.
The so-called "long-list" of Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists for the 26th annual James Beard Foundation Awards are selected from more than 20,000 online entries.
Awards are given in 21 categories representing chefs and dining destinations in 10 different U.S. regions as well as the nation’s top wine and spirits professionals, best new restaurants, rising star chefs, pastry chefs and bakers.
On March 15, the Foundation will announce the final nominees for all award categories during a press conference at the Presidio Officers’ Club in San Francisco.
Nominations will also be announced live via the Foundation’s Twitter feed at twitter.com/beardfoundation.
Semifinalists for the Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional include:.
Mannie Berk, Rare Wine Co., Brisbane, Calif.
Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton,
Wayne Carpenter, Skagit Valley Malting, Burlington, Wash.
Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Ron Cooper, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, Ranchos de Taos, N.M.
Rutger de Vink, RdV, Delaplane, Va.
Diane Flynt, Foggy Ridge Cider, Dugspur, Va.
Miljenko Grgich, Grgich Hills Estate, Rutherford, Calif.
Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, Evil Twin Brewing, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Charles Joly, Crafthouse, Chicago
Jim Koch, The Boston Beer Company, Boston
Manfred Krankl, Sine Qua Non, Oak View, Calif.
Drew Kulsveen, Willett Distillery, Bardstown, Ky.
Ted Lemon, Littorai Wines, Sebastopol, Calif.
Steve Matthiasson, Matthiasson Wines, Napa, Calif.
Steve McCarthy, Clear Creek Distillery, Portland, Oregon
Aldo Sohm, Zalto Glass, New York City
Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine
Harlen Wheatley, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Ky.
Lance Winters, St. George Spirits, Alameda, Calif.
Competitors in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category include:
Victor Albisu, Del Campo, Washington, D.C.
Scott Anderson, Elements, Princeton, N.J/
Joey Baldino, Zeppoli, Collingswood, N.J.
Erik Bruner-Yang, Maketto, Washington, D.C.
Hari Cameron, a(MUSE.), Rehoboth Beach, DE
Peter Chang, Peter Chang, Arlington, Va.
Joe Cicala, Le Virtù, Philadelphia
Jose De Brito, The Alley Light, Charlottesville, Va.
Tarver King, The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, Lovettsville, Va.
Eli Kulp, Fork, Philadelphia
Rich Landau, Vedge, Philadelphia
Cedric Maupillier, Convivial, Washington, D.C.
Sydney Meers, Stove, The Restaurant, Portsmouth, Va.
Konstantinos Pitsillides, Kanella South, Philadelphia
Dan Richer, Razza Pizza Artigianale, Jersey City, N.J.
Justin Severino, Cure, Pittsburgh
David Shannon, L’Opossum, Richmond, Va.
Aaron Silverman, Rose’s Luxury, Washington, D.C.
Greg Vernick, Vernick Food & Drink, Philadelphia
Cindy Wolf, Charleston, Baltimore
For a complete list of semifinalists visit jamesbeard.org/awards.
The list of semifinalists is sent to a panel of more than 600 judges from across the country. The panel includes leading regional restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators, and past James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Award winners. They vote on specific award categories to determine the final five nominees in each category. The same judges then vote on these five nominees to select the winners. The James Beard Awards will be handed out on May 2 in Chicago.