Three Bentonville restaurants are represented among semi-finalists for the 2022 James Beard Awards, one of the nation’s most prestigious culinary honors often referred to as the “Oscar’s of the food world.” The James Beard Foundation established the awards in 1990 as a way to recognize leaders in the culinary and food media industries. The first awards were given in 1991.
Two Arkansas restaurants have won James Beard awards establishing them as “America’s Classics.” Jones Bar-B-Q in Marianna and, most recently, Lassis Inn of Little Rock, which was honored in February of 2020.
Bentonville is represented this year in the following categories:
● Outstanding Hospitality Presented by American Airlines: The Preacher’s Son
● Best Chef, South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR): Rafael Rios, Yeyo’s
● Best Chef, South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR): Matthew McClure, The Hive.
The Preacher’s Son, located in a restored historic church in downtown Bentonville, was also a James Beard nominee in the Outstanding Restaurant Design (76 seats and over) category in 2018. The Preacher’s Son announced Arkansas native Neal Gray as its new executive chef in November 2020 after chef and founder Matthew Cooper left to pursue another project.
Chef Rafael Rios of Yeyo’s El Almo de Mexico was also a James Beard semi-finalist in the Best Chef, South category in 2020.
This is chef Matthew McClure’s 7th time as a James Beard semi-finalist. McClure, executive chef at The Hive at 21c Museum Hotel, was a semi-finalist in the “Best Chef: South” award in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. In 2021, McClure received the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame Proprietor of the Year Award. He is also an active member of the Southern Foodways Alliance.
The full list of semifinalists can be found here. Winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 13, 2022, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Restaurant and Chef Awards nominees, in addition to honorees for Leadership, Lifetime Achievement Award, and Humanitarian of the Year Awards will be revealed on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Scottsdale, AZ. Nominees for the James Beard Foundation Media Awards will be released on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in New York City.