North Baltimore Chef Spike Gjerde has long enjoyed local acclaim, but is now taking the national spotlight as a finalist for a James Beard award—a highly prestigious honor.
Gjerde, of Woodberry Kitchen, is among five finalists for the 2013 Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (D.C., DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA) award, the James Beard Foundation announced Monday. He is competing alongside Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, VA; Johnny Monis of Komi in Washington, D.C.; Brad Spence of Amis in Philadelphia, PA and Vikram Sunderam of Rasika in Washington, D.C.
The foundation describes the nominees in the following way:
"Chefs who have set new or consistent standards of excellence in their respective regions. Each candidate may be employed by any kind of dining establishment and must have been a working chef for at least the past 5 years. The 3 most recent years must have been spent in the region where the chef is presently working."
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in New York on May 3.