James Beard Foundation Recognizes Wisconsin Chefs And Milwaukee Restaurants In Semifinals

MILWAUKEE, WI — Milwaukee is on the radar again for nine chefs, bars and restaurants that placed in the semifinal round for awards from the James Beard Foundation.

Odd Duck, which settled in its new home in Walker’s Point, tweeted out its nomination Thursday: “Thanks for the honor (Beard Foundation.) We work really hard to deliver consistently, and are just so dang proud of all our staff, past & present, who brought us here. Ducks fly together!”

The James Beard Foundation will give 2022 Restaurant and Chef Awards to restaurants, chefs and bars that display excellent food, atmosphere, hospitality and contributions to their broader community, the foundation said in a statement. The foundation will announce winners June 13, 2022.

Here are Milwaukee’s nine semifinalists.

• Joe Muench, Dan Sidner, Amy Kerstein, and Jason Kerstein of Black Shoe Hospitality
• Kyle Knall of Birch
• The restaurant Sanford
• The restaurant Odd Duck
• The bar Goodkind
• Dane Baldwin of The Diplomat
• Karen Bell of Bavette La Boucherie
• Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite of EsterEv
• Gregory León of Amilinda

Not all Wisconsin semifinalists were contained to Milwaukee – here are Wisconsin chefs and restaurants that also shined.

• Nicolas Blouin of Destination Kohler in Kohler
• The restaurant L'Etoile in Madison
• Daniel Bonanno of A Pig in a Fur Coat in Madison
• Mary Kastman of Driftless Cafe in Viroqua

Solly’s Grille, a butter burger joint in Glendale, received a 2022 America’s Classics award from the foundation on Feb. 16. Owner Glenn Fieber said winning the award was “the Super Bowl in the restaurant world.”

Read the full semifinalists list here.