Maine Snubbed at Prestigious James Beard Awards This Year

At last night's James Beard Awards ceremony, considered the Oscars of the food world, none of the four Maine nominees took top honors.

Central Provisions was in the runnings for Best New Restaurant, a prize which went to Bâtard of New York City.

Cara Stadler of Brunswick's Tao Yuan was nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year. Jessica Largey of Manresa in California won that category.

Masa Miyake of Miyake in Portland was one of Maine's two finalists for Best Chef: Northeast; Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley of Eventide Oyster Co. were nominated for the same award (and endorsed by Eater's staff for the category). Instead, Barry Maiden of Hungry Mother in Cambridge, MA walked away with the win.

Nevertheless, this was a strong year for Maine, a good sign that the state's star continues to rise in the estimation of the country's elite. Check out Eater's full coverage of this year's winners and start the betting now for which Mainers will go all the way in 2016.