Even if it was seven months ago, it seems like just yesterday that Idaho culinary history was made.
For the first time, a Gem State chef won a James Beard Award. Kris Komori, co-owner of Kin in downtown Boise, took the honor for Best Chef: Mountain region.
But here we are again. Semifinalists for the 2024 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards just got announced — and four Idahoans are on the list.
Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation Awards are widely regarded as the Oscars of the culinary universe. Being a James Beard semifinalist is potentially a career-changing honor.
Here are this year’s nominees from the Gem State:
▪ Salvador Alamilla — Amano , 702 Main St., Caldwell.
Born in Mexico and raised in Santa Ana, California, Alamilla also was nominated in 2022 and 2023. Since opening Amano in a former bank lobby in 2019 with his wife, Becca, Alamilla has earned a devoted following with reverent, from-scratch Mexican cuisine. Last September, Amano was named to The New York Times’ third annual “The Restaurant List,” a guide to “the 50 places in the United States that we’re most excited about right now.”