Chefs Pomeroy, Whims and Ricker Selected As Beard Finalists

The James Beard Foundation announced the final nominees for the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards. And Portland kicked major ass. The nominees, announced this morning at an invitation-only breakfast at the Palace Café in New Orleans’ French Quarter, included a near shutout by Portlanders in the category of "Best Chefs Northwest." The list of five included three from PDX including Andy Ricker of Pok Pok fame, Cathy Whims of Nostrana and magazine page-spreader Naomi Pomeroy (right) of Beast. Le Pigeon's Gabriel Rucker—for the third year in a row—is nominated in the very prestigious "Rising Star" category, nationwide recognition for chefs 30 or under (tick tock). As indicated by The Oregonian's Grant Butler, this isn't Whims first time at the foodie world's most-prized rodeo, but it is the first time Portland has played such a dominant role in the nominees. The Best Chef Northwest category covers restaurants in Oregon and Washington as well as Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Yee-haw!
· Previous James Beard Nominee Coverage [Eater]