Adam Hegsted doesn’t make “shorter” list for 2016 James Beard Award

Adam Hegsted made the short list.

But he didn’t make the shorter list.

The chef and owner of Wandering Table was the only chef from this region in the running for a 2016 James Beard Award.

Hegsted was one of 20 semifinalists for Best Chef Northwest. He wasn’t among the five finalists named Tuesday.

Seattle and Portland, which had the most chefs in the semifinalist round – Seattle with seven and Portland with six – dominated the list of finalists.

Hegested owns Wandering Table and Yards Bruncheon in Spokane’s Kendall Yards as well as Gilded Unicorn, his latest restaurant, which opened in early December in downtown Spokane. His portfolio of properties also includes Eat Good in Liberty Lake, The Cellar at 317 Sherman in Coeur d’Alene, and a catering company called Le Catering Co.

Semifinalists were selected from more than 20,000 online entries for the 21 categories and announced Feb. 17. Finalists were announced March 15. Winners will be named May 2.

The finalists for Best Chef Northwest – Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming – are: Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, Ox, Portland; Mike Easton, Il Corvo Pasta, Seattle; Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins, Seattle; Justin Woodward, Castagna, Portland; and Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle.

Established in 1990, the prestigious James Beard Awards honor culinary professionals for excellence and achievement. The James Beard Foundation, which gives the awards, was founded in 1986 in honor of the cookbook author and teacher by the same name.

On the Web: jamesbeard.org .

Click here for the news release announcing the finalists.