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Philly’s 2019 James Beard nominees include Vetri, Ito, Yin, Landau, Martinez

Philly has nominees in five categories.

Rich Landau from Vedge and Ellen Yin from Fork, two of Philadelphia’s James Beard nominees.
Rich Landau from Vedge and Ellen Yin from Fork, two of Philadelphia’s James Beard nominees.Read moreMichael Klein / File Photograph

Philadelphians have figured into five major categories of the annual James Beard Foundation’s award nominees:

  1. Marc Vetri for chef

  2. Zahav for restaurant

  3. Ellen Yin of Fork, High Street on Market, and High Street on Hudson for restaurateur

  4. Jesse Ito of Royal Izakaya for rising star chef

  5. Rich Landau of Vedge and Cristina Martinez of South Philly Barbacoa for best chef/Mid-Atlantic

Of these, it’s a first-time nomination for Ito, whose omakase at the Queen Village izakaya is considered one of the premier dining experiences in town, and Martinez, an undocumented worker from Mexico who champions immigration causes (as seen on the Netflix series Chef’s Table) and draws lines for her lamb barbacoa.

Ito also made it just under the wire. The category is open to those under 30; he turned 30 on March 4.

The winners will be announced at a gala May 6 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.