Cordelia's Vinnie Cimino is Cleveland's Sole James Beard Awards Finalist

"Everybody is so excited to be in this position. It's amazing," says Cimino.

By Douglas Trattner on Wed, Apr 3, 2024 at 11:07 am

[
      {

        
        "name": "Ad - NativeInline - Injected",
        "component": "38482495",
        "insertPoint": "3",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "5"
      },{


        "name": "Real 1 Player (r2) - Inline",
        "component": "38482494",
        "insertPoint": "2/3",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "9"
      }
    ]

click to enlarge

Douglas Trattner

Vinnie Cimino (right) and his Cordelia partner Andrew Watts.

This morning the James Beard Foundation released its list of James Beard Awards finalists, a roster that was trimmed down from the longer list of semifinalists that was released back in January. Cordelia chef-partner Vinnie Cimino has made the cut. He is the only representative from Cleveland.

In the category of Best Chef: Great Lakes, Cimino is up against Jose Salazar from Mita's restaurant in Cincinnati, Sujan Sarkar from Indienne in Chicago, Jenner Tomaska from Esme in Chicago, and Hajime Sato of Sozai in Clawson, Mich.

Reached by phone from Chicago, Cimino said, "It's been an exciting few months. We're still a really young restaurant and didn't expect to be in this position. You always hope and dream — especially this early on — but we have such an amazing group of people. Everybody is so excited to be in this position. It's amazing."

We will find out who wins on June 10 at the big gala in Chicago.

Cleveland has not had a winner since Jonathon Sawyer took honors in 2015. Before that, Michael Symon snagged the award in 2009.

For the complete list of finalists, click here.

Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Tags:

Like this story?
SCENE Supporters make it possible to tell the Cleveland stories you won’t find elsewhere.
Become a supporter today.

About The Author

Douglas Trattner

Douglas Trattner on Twitter

Douglas Trattner on Instagram

Email Douglas Trattner

For 20 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work on Michael Symon's "Carnivore," "5 in 5" and “Fix it With Food” have earned him three New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor garnered the award of “Best...

Scroll to read more Food News articles