James Beard Awards: See How Los Gatos Fared

LOS GATOS, CA — Foodies rejoice: you have some new restaurants to seek out. The semifinalists for this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards — dubbed the Oscars for restaurants — have been released and 54 restaurants from California made the list.

The awards across 21 categories for national and regional chef and restaurant awards were released on Thursday. Categories include best new restaurant, best chef, outstanding baker and outstanding service, among others.

Out of more than 20,000 entrants, one from Los Gatos made the list: David Kinch of Manresa in Los Gatos is among semifinalists for the Outstanding Chef award. The award honors a chef whose career has set national industry standards and who has served as an inspiration to other food professionals.

The James Beard Foundation holds an online open call for entries every year. A committee reviews thousands of entries to come up with a nominating ballot of semifinalists in each category.

An independent volunteer panel of more than 600 judges — comprised of top regional restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators, and past winners — then votes on specific award categories to determine the final five nominees in each category.

They then vote on these five nominees to select the winners.

The foundation will announce the final nominees on the morning of March 14 at Parc in Philadelphia. The event will be live-streamed.

The winners will be announced at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York City on April 27. They’ll receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia. There are no cash prizes.

• ALSO SEE: James Beard Awards: See How The Bay Area Fared

Click here to see the full list of awards.

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR THE JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION - Atmosphere at The JBF Gala: A Night of Award Winners at the Rainbow Room on Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 in New York. (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision for James Beard Foundation/AP Images)