A central Arkansas restaurant and a Northwest Arkansas chef have been nominated as semifinalists for national culinary awards, the James Beard Foundation announced Wednesday.
One Eleven at the Capital in Little Rock is a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant and Matthew McClure, chef at The Hive in Bentonville, is a semifinalist for Best Chef: South, James Beard Foundation spokesman Kimberly Murphy said in an email.
A committee selected the nominees in 21 culinary categories from a list of over 34,000 online entries, the email states.
The finalists will be selected by a volunteer panel of more than 600 judges, comprising restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators and past James Beard Foundation award winners, Murphy said.
The James Beard Foundation was founded in 1986 for James Beard, a cookbook author and teacher who championed American cuisine, the email states.
The foundation will announce the finalists in March via Twitter and will present its 25th year of awards in May in Chicago.