3 Arizona Chefs, 1 Restaurant Are Finalists in James Beard Awards

ARIZONA — Three Arizona chefs and one Phoenix restaurant were named finalists in the annual James Beard Awards.

The prestigious James Beard Foundation's Restaurant and Chef Awards began in 1991. Winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on June 13 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Chris Bianco of the Phoenix restaurants Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco was named a finalist for outstanding restauranteur. In 2003, he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southwest.

Bianco started Pizzeria Bianco in the corner of a Phoenix grocery store in 1988 and has since morphed into a, "driving force in the artisanal pizza movement," he said on his website.

Bianco is the chef-owner of Pizzeria Bianco, which has two Phoenix locations, in addition to two Pane Bianco restaurants. Bianco also runs Tratto, which serves handmade pastas and seasonal dishes sourced mainly with ingredients from artisans and farmers.

Nominations for best restauranteur are based on the restauranteur's use of their restaurants "as a vehicle for building community, demonstrating creativity in entrepreneurship, integrity in restaurant operations, and making efforts to create a sustainable work culture."

Bacanora in Phoenix, which opened in early 2021, was named a finalist for best new restaurant. At Bacanora, "Every dish is made with the love of the ingredients, the love of the guests, and the love of the community," according to its website. All the food at Bacanora is cooked in the restaurant's wood-fired grill. It was already named one of the Best New Restaurants of 2021 by Esquire magazine.

Nominees for best restaurant must have opened in 2020 or 2021 and "already demonstrate excellence in cuisine and hospitality and seem likely to make a significant impact in years to come."

Don Guerra, owner and founder of Barrio Bread in Tucson, was named a finalist for outstanding baker. Guerra described himself as, "an artisan baker, passionate about European bread making techniques and local grain."

Guerra opened The Village Baker in Flagstaff in 1995, later opened another bakery in Oregon and then took some time off from professional baking before opening Barrio Bread in 2009, according to his website. Barrio Bread's website says that it is dedicated to exceptional quality artisan bread, as well as to the local community.

Guerra was named one of the Top Ten Bakers in America by Dessert Professionals magazine in 2016.

Giovanni Scorzo of Andreoli Italian Grocer in Scottsdale was named a finalist for best chef in the Southwest. Scorzo grew up in Italy and trained in fine dining restaurants all over the country, according to his website. He ran multiple restaurants that were well-known for their excellence before opening Andreoli.

"Scorzo has an uncompromising nature when it comes to his food and demands that it meets his high standards before ever serving it to his patrons," according to the Andreoli website.