Atlanta chefs snubbed for James Beard award

Catch up quick: Atlanta had several semi-finalists this year, but Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter of Summerhill restaurant Talat Market made it to the finalist round.

• Savang was previously a 2018 Beard semi-finalist in the Rising Star Chef of the Year category, but this is the duo's first time as Beard finalists.

What they're saying: Savang told Axios prior to the awards show that being a James Beard finalist is the accumulation of 13 years of his cooking career.

Context: The Summerhill restaurant's menu combines Thai cooking techniques with local Georgia ingredients.

Flashback: Last year, Terry Koval of Decatur's The Deer and the Dove took home the James Beard Award in the same category.