2025 James Beard awards: Eight Utah semifinalists

The big picture: The majority of Utah's semifinalist nominations went to chefs.

Outstanding restaurateur: Lavanya Mahate, Saffron Valley Indian Restaurants

Outstanding pastry chef or baker: Adalberto Diaz, Fillings and Emulsions

Outstanding hospitality: Manoli's

Outstanding bar: Water Witch

Best chef (mountain region):

• Mike Blocher and Nick Fahs, Table X
• Andrew Fuller, Oquirrh
• Matthew Harris, Tupelo Park City
• Nick Zocco, Urban Hill

Flashback: Zocco was a 2024 finalist for best chef in the mountain region, which includes Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

• Water Witch was announced as a semifinalist in 2022 for its bar program. The Central Ninth watering hole recently celebrated its eighth anniversary.
• David Chon, of Bar Nohm, Water Witch's sister bar, was nominated for best chef in last year's semifinals.

What they're saying: "The only rubric that we had when we opened up Water Witch was to create a bar that we wanted to hang out in," Sean Neves, who co-owns Water Witch with Scott Gardner told Axios.

• Neves called Salt Lake City's food scene an "emerging market that's doing big things."

Go deeper: Valter's Osteria and SLC chefs named 2024 James Beard semifinalists