The chefs at three Oakland restaurants have been named semi-finalists for the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef in California.
The nominees are Geoff Davis of Burdell, C-Y Chia and Shane Stanbridge of Lion Dance Cafe and Finn Stern of Daytrip. The award recognizes “chefs who set high standards in their culinary skills and leadership abilities and who are making efforts to help create a sustainable work culture in their respective regions, while contributing positively to their broader community,” according to a James Beard Foundation release.
While the “best chef” awards are broken down into a dozen regions, the restaurant awards are national and no East Bay restaurant was named as a semifinalist in any category.
Burdell opened in September 2023 and won the Nosh Award for best new restaurant. Davis, a veteran of several Michelin-starred, Bay Area restaurants, serves sophisticated soul food at his Temescal restaurant.
At Daytrip, also in Temescal, Stern puts together a seasonal, fermentation-focused menu that has won many followers. Lion Dance Cafe in Uptown has been celebrated for its vegan food that mixes influences from Singaporean, Italian, Chinese and other cuisines.
San Francisco chefs and restaurants also picked up several semi-finalist nods. Sylvan Mishima Brackett of Rintaro is named in the nationwide outstanding chef category. Competing against the Oakland quartet of chefs in the Best Chef in California category are Azalina Eusope of Azalina, Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan of Copra, Jeong-In Hwang of San Ho Won, Kristina Liedags Compton of Hilda and Jesse, and Laura Ozyilmaz and Sayat Ozyilmaz of Dalida.
The winners for the restaurant and chef categories will be announced on June 10. All of the semi-finalists can be found at the James Beard website.
Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards, administered by the James Beard Foundation, recognize exceptional achievement and talent in the culinary arts, hospitality, media and broader food systems.
