Yeah, we know we’re a bit late on this, but we’d be remiss not to mention that the semifinalists for this year’s restaurant and chef awards were announced last week, and several locals are among the nominees. They include: Cafe Juanita’s Holly Smith (for outstanding chef), Canlis (for outstanding restaurant), Ethan Stowell (for outstanding restaurateur), Wild Ginger (for outstanding wine program), and RockCreek’s Eric Donnelly, the Whale Wins’s Renee Erickson, and Spinasse’s Jason Stratton*, among many others (for best Northwest chef). Here’s the full list of Seattle nominees:
Outstanding Baker
Evan Andres, Columbia City Bakery
Outstanding Bar Program
Canon
Outstanding Restaurant
Canlis
Outstanding Restaurateur
Ethan Stowell, Ethan Stowell Restaurants (Staple & Fancy, How to Cook a Wolf, Anchovies & Olives, and others)
Outstanding Wine Program
Wild Ginger
Best Chef: Northwest
Eric Donnelly, RockCreek
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins
Nathan Lockwood, Altura
Garrett Melkonian, Mamnoon
Dustin Ronspies, Art of the Table
Jason Stratton, Spinasse
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule
The winners will be announced on March 24.
* Speaking of Jason Stratton, he’s quitting: The chef made the sudden announcement last weekend that he’ll be stepping down from Spinasse, Artusi, and Vespolina. In an interview with Seattle Eater, Stratton blamed his decision on exhaustion. “Once you get to a certain point, the creative process gets a little more difficult because you don’t really feel like you have a full charge in you,” he said. “I thought it was time for a sabbatical.”
