Marea

New York City was one busy town last night. While the glitterati of the fashion world flocked to the Met for the annual Costume Institute Gala, the best chefs in the nation gathered at Lincoln Center for the James Beard Awards. Starting yesterday afternoon, the Internet was abuzz with news about the event, the culinary industry's equivalent to the Oscars. The James Beard Foundation live tweeted the winners, while local bloggers, like Eater, were also in on the action.

Top Chef head honcho Tom Colicchio took home top honors winning the coveted Outstanding Chef title. Timothy Hollingsworth, former Bocuse d'Or competitor, was named Rising Star Chef, and Best New Restaurant went to Michael White's Marea. To check out the complete list of winners, read more

It's that time of year again, when the culinary cream of the crop gears up for the Oscars of the food world, the James Beard Awards. This morning, the James Beard Foundation debuted its long list of semifinalists.

The semifinalists were announced for the following restaurant and chef categories: outstanding restaurateur, outstanding chef, outstanding restaurant, outstanding service, best new restaurant, rising star chef of the year, outstanding pastry chef, outstanding wine service, outstanding wine and spirits professional, and best chef for the following regions: Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Great Lakes, New York City, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, and South.

To find out which big names made headlines, read more.