A Milwaukee chef is in the running for the biggest honor in the culinary world.
Justin Carlisle of Ardent restaurant is a finalist for a James Beard Award in the Best Chef: Midwest category.
The finalists were announced Tuesday morning by the organization.
The awards ceremony and gala will be held in Chicago May 2.
Two other chefs, Thomas Hauck of c. 1880 and David Swanson of Braise were named semifinalists this year.
Three Madison chefs were also named semifinalists in the same category -- Dan Fox of Heritage Tavern, Jonathan Hunter of Forequarter and Francesco Mangano of Osteria Papavero.
Best Chef Midwest: @paulberglund, @jkcarlisle, @knashan, Lenny Russo, Kevin Willmann #jbfa
— Beard Foundation (@beardfoundation) March 15, 2016
Tory Miller of E'Toile in Madison was named a semifinalist in the prestigious Outstanding Chef category.
The James Beard Awards are considered the Oscars of the culinary world. Honorees are chosen from a list of more than 20,000 entries in 21 categories such as a best new restaurants and pastry chefs.
