Burlington restaurant, Montpelier cocktail bar make finals for 2024 James Beard Awards

A Burlington restaurant and a Montpelier distillery were named Wednesday as finalists for the 2024 James Beard Awards, the most prestigious honors in the American restaurant industry.

Cara Chigazola Tobin, a past nominee, is again a finalist in the Best Chef: Northeast category that includes the six New England states. The co-owner of Honey Road in Burlington is seeking her first James Beard victory. She had previously been a contender in 2018 and 2019.

The chef at the Eastern Mediterranean-inspired restaurant is competing against four chefs from four other New England states: Conor Dennehy of Talulla in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Maria Meza of Dolores in Providence, Rhode Island; David Standridge of The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, Connecticut; and Jake Stevens of Leeward in Portland, Maine.

The chef at another Burlington restaurant, Micah Tavelli of Paradiso, had been named one of 20 semifinalists in the Best Chef: Northeast category but did not make the list of five finalists.

Unlike Tobin, who is nominated for a regional honor, Barr Hill is contending in a nationwide category. The Montpelier distillery and cocktail bar is a first-time nominee for Outstanding Bar and, according to a news release from Barr Hill, is the first Vermont bar to be a James Beard Award finalist in that category.

Barr Hill will compete against four bars outside of the Northeast. The other contenders are Clavel Mezcaleria in Baltimore; Jewel of the South in New Orleans; Las Ramblas in Brownsville, Texas; and Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco.

The winners of the 2024 James Beard Awards will be announced at a ceremony Monday, June 10 in Chicago. Two years ago, Nisachon “Rung” Morgan, chef at Saap in Randolph, won the Best Chef: Northeast award.

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.