In a field dominated by San Francisco and Los Angeles chefs, Emma Lipp and Stephanie Reagor of Valley Bar + Bottle earned Sonoma County’s only chef semifinalist nomination for the 2026 James Beard Awards.
The partners behind Valley Bar + Bottle in Sonoma were named semifinalists Wednesday morning in the “Best Chef: California” category. Other semifinalists include San Francisco chefs Kim Alter of Nightbird, Harrison Cheney of Sons & Daughters, and Kosuke Tada of Mijoté, as well as Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu of Oakland’s Sun Moon Studio.
Derek Stevenson, beverage director of Calistoga’s two-Michelin-starred Auro, was also recognized as a semifinalist in the Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service Category…