Three Hawaii chefs were named semifinalists in the 2015 James Beard Awards. Michelle Karr-Ueoka of MW restaurant was Hawaii’s sole semifinalist in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category. Semifinalists for the Best Chef: West category are Ed Kenney of Town restaurant and Andrew Le of The Pig & the Lady.

Nominees, selected from the semifinalists, will be announced March 24, and the awards will be held May 4 in Chicago. 

Karr-Ueoka, former pastry chef for Alan Wong’s, opened MW in 2013 with her husband, former Alan Wong’s chef de cuisine Wade Ueoka. Last year, both MW and Karr-Ueoka were nominated for James Beard Awards (Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Pastry Chef, respectively.) In 2012, she received the Rising Star Chef Award from StarChefs.com as a pastry chef. Karr-Ueoka staged at Daniel and Per Se, and did an externship at The French Laundry. 

Kenney, who opened Town in 2005, was nominated in the same category in 2013 and 2014. He received StarChefs.com’s 2012 Hawaii Rising Restaurateur award. Kenney also hosts “Family Ingredients,” a locally produced, Emmy Award-winning food-travel show that will air on PBS nationally this year. He is recognized as a champion of food sustainability in Hawaii.

Le, who wowed local foodies with pop-up dinners and a built a following via his farmers markets menus, opened The Pig & the Lady restaurant in 2013 in Chinatown. Le was a semifinalist last year in James Beard Award’s Rising Star Chef of the Year category and was named a 2012 Hawaii Rising Star Chef by StarChefs.com. Le staged at the Rich Table in San Francisco.

The James Beard Awards are the Oscars of the U.S. food and restaurant world. The James Beard Foundation, named after the iconic cookbook author and teacher, is a nonprofit that offers events and programs to foster education about America’s culinary culture. They include educational initiatives, food-industry awards, an annual food conference and culinary scholarships. 

Full list of semifianlists: http://bit.ly/1AlgTXC