A Guide to 2015 JBFA Outstanding Chef Nominees

The James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for this year's 2015 Outstanding Chef this morning, and five illustrious restaurateurs are up for the honor. The award is given to a working chef in America "whose career has set national industry standards and who has served as an inspiration to other food professionals." The 2015 finalists include Michael Anthony, Sean Brock, Suzanne Goin, Donald Link, and Marc Vetri, all of whom have been nominated for a James Beard Award before. Below, everything you need to know about each chef:

Michael Anthony

Photo: Daniel Krieger

Michael Anthony is the executive chef and co-owner of the lauded New York City restaurant Gramercy Tavern, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. He will also soon head up the kitchen at Untitled, the restaurant that will open within the Whitney Museum when it relocates to downtown Manhattan. Before landing at Gramercy Tavern in 2006, Anthony served as the executive chef at Dan Barber's Blue Hill Stone Barns. Anthony is no a stranger to the James Beard Awards: This is his seventh nomination. In 2012, he took home the award for Best Chef: New York City.

Sean Brock

Daniel Krieger

Photo: Daniel Krieger

Charleston-based chef Sean Brock — who starred in season two of Mind of a Chef — is perhaps best known for his championing of Low Country cuisine. He owns multiple restaurants in Charleston including Husk (which has a second location in Nashville), McCrady's (Charleston), and the recently opened Minero — his Mexican concept. Brock — who published his first cookbook, Heritage, last year — won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast 2010. He's was also nominated for Rising Star Chef in 2008 and 2009, and for Outstanding Chef in 2013 and 2014.

Suzanne Goin

Photo: Elizabeth Daniels

Los Angeles chef Suzanne Goin — who has now been nominated for Outstanding Chef seven times — owns the James Beard Award-winning Lucques and AOC. In 2009, she opened Tavern, and with it a bakery and pantry called The Larder, which now has three locations, including an outpost at LAX. Most recently, Goin made headlines by announcing that her restaurant group is now adding a three percent healthcare surcharge to receipts to help pay for employees' healthcare costs.

Donald Link

Photo: Eater

Chef Donald Link owns a mini-empire of restaurants in New Orleans that includes hotspots like Herbsaint, Cochon, Cochon Butcher (which makes an impressive charcuterie board), and Peche. Link is a busy man: He published his second cookbook Down South in February and is slated to open a Nashville outpost of Cochon Butcher this spring. The chef is also a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: South and for his cookbook Real Cajun. Link was also nominated for Outstanding Chef in 2012.

Marc Vetri

Photo: Official

Philadelphia-based chef Marc Vetri own six restaurants in the City of Brotherly Love including Alla Spina and his namesake Vetri. Most recently, he opened Lo Spiedo which serves porcini tinctures and ginger beer floats. He is known for Italian cooking and his outspokenness on topics like gluten intolerance and the food media. Like the other chefs nominated this year, he is no stranger to the James Beard Awards. Vetri won Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2005 and was nominated for Outstanding Chef in 2014.