The James Beard Awards is starting to ramp up this year with the announcement of 2018's semifinalists—and once again, Austin has come away with some huge nods.
Kemuri Tatsu-ya scored its very first James Beard Award nomination, gaining recognition in the Best New Restaurant category. The Holly restaurant has been killing it with awards recently, landing on Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurant list last year.
Launderette's Laura Sawicki was nominated for a fourth time as Outstanding Pastry Chef, while Olamaie's Michael Fojtasek, Barley Swine's Bryce Gilmore and Emmer & Rye's Kevin Fink all received nominations for Best Chef: Southwest.
Finally, Jeffrey Stuffings from Jester King Brewery was nominated in the Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professionals category.
The James Beard Award semifinalists are chosen from a list of 20,000 online entries across 21 categories, including Outstanding Bar Program, Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Baker.
Finalists are announced on March 14; in the meantime, check out the full list of semifinalists here.