james beard awards Archives

From left, Stephanie Reagor, Emma Lipp, Lauren Feldman and Tanner Walle teamed up to open the Valley Swim Club restaurant in Sonoma. They also own Valley Bar + Bottle. Lipp and Reagor have earned Sonoma County’s only chef semifinalist nomination for the 2026 James Beard Awards. (John Burgess / The Press Democrat)

Sonoma’s Valley Bar + Bottle Earns Rare James Beard Semifinalist Spot

January 2026

A tiny Sonoma restaurant has earned a rare James Beard semifinalist nod, standing alone in a year crowded with big-city names. Here’s who was nominated.

Spinster Sisters chef Liza Hinman, second from right, and her kitchen staff, from left, sous-chef David McDowell, and line cooks Kelli Bailey and Grant Mitchel prepare dishes from chef Joyce Goldstein's new cookbook The New Mediterranean Jewish Table, during a Book Passage Cooks with Books event at Spinster Sisters in Santa Rosa, California on Wednesday, June 1, 2016. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)

Liza Hinman: Santa Rosa Chef, Mom, Entrepreneurial Leader

July 2017

Popular restaurant leader gets a nod for entrepreneurial spirit.

Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.

Peek Inside the Healdsburg Restaurant Nominated as Nation’s Best Designed

March 2017

Healdsburg's Single Thread has been nominated for one of the nation's top restaurant awards.

A selection of dishes at SingleThread Farm-Restaurant-Inn in Healdsburg. (Photo courtesy of Single Thread)

4 Sonoma Restaurants Make James Beard Semifinalist List

February 2017

Some of the brightest stars in Sonoma County’s food scene are up for the coveted awards.

Russian River Brewing Company's Vinnie Cilurzo, with wife Natalie, is a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional in the James Beard Foundation Awards.

2016 James Beard Award Semifinalists Announced

February 2016

Two Sonoma County men were among semifinalists announced Wednesday for the James Beard Foundation’s 2016 restaurant and chef awards. Russian River Brewing Co.’s Vinnie Cilurzo of Santa Rosa and Littorai Wines’ Ted Lemon of Sebastopol were among the 20 making the cut for Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional. About two dozen Bay Area restaurants […]