Four Wisconsin chefs are listed among the semifinalists for the 2020 James Beard Awards.
Three are included in the list of semifinalists for the Best Chef: Midwest award category. They include:
- Dane Baldwin, The Diplomat, Milwaukee
- Karen Bell, Bavette La Boucherie, Milwaukee
- Sean Pharr, Mint Mark, Madison
Baldwin was a semifinalist for the award in 2019. Bell was a semifinalist in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
In addition, Paul Bartolotta of Milwaukee-based The Bartolotta Restaurants was named a semifinalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. He is a two-time winner of a James Beard Best Chef award. He and his brother Joe Bartolotta, who died last year, were semifinalists for Outstanding Restaurateur for the past three years.
The HOBNOB supper club near Racine was named a semifinalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category.
Each James Beard Award category has 20 semifinalists. Final nominees for each category will be named on March 25. The winners will be announced at the 2020 James Beard Awards Gala on May 4, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
