If the James Beard Awards are the “Oscars of Food,” then Oklahoma City is poised to walk the red carpet in a big way this year. Established in 1990, the awards have since reigned as the most prestigious accolades to which an American chef or restaurant can aspire. In recent years, OKC has seen some significant inroads at the ceremony, including earning an America’s Classic Award for Florence’s Restaurant in 2022 (the first award for any restaurant in the state), and a win in the Best Chef: Southwest category in 2023 for Grey Sweater’s chef Andrew Black. With the release of this year’s slate of semifinalists, we have more chefs and restaurants — and a sommelier! — earning praise from the coveted awards body.
Altogether, eight chefs, restaurants and beverage professionals in the OKC metro made the semifinals across four categories, further indication of our city’s rising status as a dining destination. This list will be whittled down to finalists on April 2, followed by the James Beard Awards Ceremony in Chicago on June 16. Here are all the OKC spots in the running.
Outstanding Restaurateur
In one of the upper-tier nationwide categories, Elliot Nelson of McNellie’s Group was long-listed for Outstanding Restaurateur. The Tulsa-based group has a significant presence in OKC too, with locations of Fassler Hall, Dust Bowl and McNellie’s Pub.
Outstanding Restaurant
And speaking of Outstanding Restaurateur, the winners of that category last year are once again in the running in another major category — and this time for their OKC restaurant. After Id Est Hospitality took over ownership of Nonesuch, the heavily acclaimed restaurant has undergone menu and aesthetic changes. Which apparently have worked, considering it’s nominated for Outstanding Restaurant, easily the biggest award an OKC restaurant has ever vied for.
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
If ever there was a strong indication that OKC is rising on a national scale, there’s the fact that our city is now getting accolades for wine. Ian Bennett, a certified sommelier, is a semifinalist in the Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service category for The Study, a wine bar on Film Row that features a dynamic selection of wines (including Lambrusco) in a cozy and unpretentious setting.
Best Chef: Southwest
Individual OKC chefs also fared particularly well in their regional category, for Best Chef: Southwest, where Oklahoma competes against Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. Of the 20 semifinalists, the metro represented one-fourth of them, including Zack Walters of endlessly buzzy Sedalia’s oyster and wine bar, Eric Smith of The Crown (and its tasting menu restaurant-within-a-restaurant, The Crown Room) and Olivier Bouzerand of Edmond’s fanciful French Fait Maison.
Kevin Lee, who pivoted a fried chicken concept into a contemporary Korean steakhouse, also earned a nod for his singular work at Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee in Edmond, while Tahnee Francis picked one up for Naija Wife Kitchen, a subterranean food court spot in downtown OKC, serving up authentic West African stews like peanut butter soup and egusi, made with melon seeds.
