F&W Announces 2012 People's Best New Chef Nominees

Here they are: Food & Wine's nominees for 2012's People's Best New Chef competition, in which readers vote online for the winner. There are ten nominees from ten regions, and the internet masses have from now until March 11 to vote their favorite chefs to the top of the heap.

Last year's winner was Jamie Bissonnette of Coppa in Boston. Also, Food & Wine just announced their first-ever People's Best New Pastry chefs last month. A press release notes that "nominees for The People’s Best New Chef award remain eligible for a Best New Chef award," so the list below could possibly maybe be considered a short list for Food & Wine's editor-curated Best New Chef awards. Here are the nominees:

California
Sean Baker: Gather, Berkeley
Danny Bowien: Mission Chinese Food, San Francisco
Perry Hoffman: Étoile (at Domaine Chandon)
Jordan Kahn: Red Medicine, Beverly Hills
Corey Lee: Benu, San Francisco
Thomas McNaughton: Flour + Water, San Francisco
Teague Moriarty and Matt McNamara: Sons & Daughters, San Francisco
Bryant Ng: The Spice Table, Los Angeles
Rachel Sillcocks: Piccino, San Francisco
Michael Voltaggio: Ink, Los Angeles

Great Lakes
John Anderes: Telegraph, Chicago
Jimmy Bannos, Jr.: The Purple Pig, Chicago
Micah Frank: Black Market, Indianapolis
Danny Grant: Ria, Chicago
Edward Kim: Ruxbin, Chicago
Anthony Martin: Tru, Chicago
Chris Pandel: The Bristol, Chicago
Jose Salazar: The Palace, Cincinnati
Jason Vincent: Nightwood, Chicago
Daniel Wright: Senate, Cincinnati

Gulf Coast
Vishwesh Bhatt: Snackbar, Oxford, Mississippi
Kevin Cory: Naoe, Miami
Alex Harrell: Sylvain, New Orleans
Jeff McInnis: Yardbird, Miami
Jose Mendin and Sergio Navarro: Pubbelly, Miami Beach
James Petrakis: The Ravenous Pig, Winter Park, Florida
Hari Pulapaka: Cress, DeLand, Florida
Horacio Rivadero: The Dining Room, Miami Beach
Alon Shaya: Domenica, New Orleans
Simon Stojanovic: Altamare, Miami Beach

Mid-Atlantic
Pierre Calmels: Bibou, Philadelphia
Christopher Edwards: The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, Lovettsville, Virginia
Sonja Finn: Dinette, Pittsburgh
David Guas: Bayou Bakery, Arlington, Virginia
Mike Isabella: Graffiato, Washington, DC
Karen Nicolas: Equinox, Washington, DC
Kevin Sousa: Salt of the Earth, Pittsburgh
Brad Spence: Amis, Philadelphia
Nicholas Stefanelli: Bibiana, Washington, DC
Lee Styer: Fond, Philadelphia

Midwest
Mike Brown and James Winberg: Travail Kitchen & Amusements, Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Kevin Butler: Devotay, Iowa City, Iowa
Clayton Chapman: The Grey Plume, Omaha, Nebraska
Tim Dahl: Nostrano, Madison, Wisconsin
Josh Galliano: Monarch, Maplewood, Missouri
Carly Groben: Proof, Des Moines, Iowa
Nicholas Johnson: 43 North, Madison, Wisconsin
Landon Schoenfeld: HauteDish, Minneapolis
Cassy Vires: Home Wine Kitchen, Maplewood, Missouri
Sameh Wadi: Saffron Restaurant & Lounge, Minneapolis

New England
Nemo Bolin: Cook & Brown Public House, Providence, Rhode Island
Geoffroy Deconinck: Natalie's, Camden, Maine
Amanda Hallowell: Nebo Lodge, North Haven, Maine
William Kovel: Catalyst, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Joseph Margate: Clink, Boston
Jake Rojas: Tallulah on Thames, Newport, Rhode Island
Robert Sisca: Bistro du Midi, Boston
Bjorn Somlo: Nudel, Lenox, Massachusetts
Benjamin Sukle: The Dorrance, Providence, Rhode Island
Joel Viehland: Community Table, Washington, Connecticut

New York Area
Nick Anderer: Maialino, New York City
Eric Gabrynowitz: Restaurant North, Armonk, New York
Emma Hearst: Sorella, New York City
Takashi Inoue: Takashi, New York City
Dan Kluger: ABC Kitchen, New York City
César Ramirez: Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, Brooklyn
Jesse Schenker: Recette, New York City
Alex Stupak: Empellón, New York City
Gabe Thompson: Dell’Anima, New York City
Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone: Torrisi Italian Specialties, New York City

Northwest and Pacific
Ben Bettinger: Beaker & Flask, Portland, Oregon
Chris DiMinno: Clyde Common, Portland, Oregon
Nick Duncan: La Belle Vie, Nampa, Idaho
Sunny Jin: Jory, Newberg, Oregon
Jenn Lewis: Lincoln, Portland, Oregon
Cormac Mahoney: Madison Park Conservatory, Seattle
Brian McCracken and Dana Tough: Spur, Seattle
Shaun McCrain: Book Bindery, Seattle
Sheldon Simeon: Star Noodle, Lahaina, Hawaii
Blaine Wetzel: The Willows Inn, Lummi Island, Washington

Southeast
Erik Anderson and Josh Habiger: The Catbird Seat, Nashville
Adam Burress and Chase Mucerino: Hammerheads, Louisville, Kentucky
Katie Button: Cúrate, Asheville, North Carolina
Peter Dale: The National, Athens, Georgia
Joseph Lenn: The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee
Kirsten Mitchell: Cameo 19 Hundred, Wilmington, North Carolina
Steven Satterfield: Miller Union, Atlanta
Ryan Smith: Empire State South, Atlanta
Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman: Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Memphis
Guy Wong: Miso Izakaya, Altanta

Southwest
Justin Beckett: Beckett's Table, Phoenix
Tim Byres: Smoke, Dallas
Andrew Curren: 24 Diner, Austin
Ned Elliott: Foreign & Domestic, Austin
Ryan Lowder: The Copper Onion, Salt Lake City
Will Nolan: Eight K, Snowmass Village, Colorado
Paul Qui: Uchiko, Austin
Jonathon Stranger and Russ Johnson: Ludivine, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Lon Symensma: ChoLon, Denver
Tre Wilcox: Village Marquee Grill & Bar, Dallas

· The People's Best New Chef [F&W]
· All Awards Season Coverage on Eater [-E-]