James Beard Announcing its 2011 Nominations in Portland

Expect IACP-levels of madness. Per the Porter-grabbing FoodDude, the James Beard Awards, aka "the Oscars of the food world," announced yesterday that the 2011 nominations will be revealed from right here in Portland, complete with a celebratory gala featuring past and present JBF Award-winners and nominees.

The James Beard Foundation has been showing some strong love for Portland of late: Castagna's Matt Lightner recently cooked at the Beard House in NYC, and last year's awards included nominations for Cathy Whims, Andy Ricker, Gabriel Rucker, and Naomi Pomeroy — not to mention gala cookin' by Clyde Common's Chris DiMinno. Extra bonus points: Though Portland took home no awards in 2010 (lame!), we still looked damn good in the process. Let's call 2011 our year. More information about Beard's planned Portland invasion — slated for the third week of March — as soon as it becomes available.
· James Beard Foundation [Official site]
· All Previous James Beard Coverage [Eater PDX]