Verona Restaurant Among Finalists For ‘Outstanding Chef'

VERONA, NJ — A chef at a Verona restaurant is among the finalists for the 2018 Garden State Culinary Arts Awards (GSCAA).

According to the GSCAA, Ariane Duarte of Ariane Kitchen + Bar in Verona is a finalist for "Outstanding Chef."

Here’s how the GSCAA describes the category:

“A chef in a professional capacity in New Jersey for at least five consecutive years whose accomplishments have served to inspire, educate and set standards in both the state and the industry."

Following a second round of voting, the winners will be selected and announced at a gala ceremony on Sunday, April 29.

The GSCAA identifies itself as an independent, juried culinary awards program, and the only one of its kind in New Jersey to honor achievement and excellence in a variety of culinary arts enterprises in the Garden State.

“During the past year, the nine-member GSCA Awards Committee and a statewide body of some 150 judges mined New Jersey for candidates for consideration for the awards,” the organization stated. “After winnowing down the names in each category to 10 nominees, the committee and judges voted in a first round of independently tabulated balloting.”

See the full list of nominees here.

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