Partners Andrew Watts (left) and Vinnie Cimino Credit: Douglas Trattner

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.

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This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 9, 2024.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.