Atlanta chefs named James Beard finalists

Two Atlanta chefs are finalists for the James Beard Awards , the "Oscars" of the food and restaurant world.

Driving the news: Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter of Summerhill restaurant Talat Market are nominated, together, in the Best Chef: Southeast category.

State of play: Savang was previously a 2018 Beard semifinalist in the Rising Star Chef of the Year category, but this is the duo's first time as Beard finalists.

• Atlanta Magazine named them Best New Chefs in 2020 and added them to its Best New Restaurants List in 2021.
• Talat Market co-owners Savang and Lassiter cook using Thai techniques with local Georgia ingredients.

What they're saying: "Savang and Lassiter started Talat Market as a weekend pop-up at Candler Park's Gato Bizco Cafe," the AJC reported.

• "Mere weeks after launching in 2017, Savang and Lassiter were already attracting crowds hoping to snag one of the coveted seats, and just a few years later they raised enough capital with a Kickstarter campaign to open their first brick-and-mortar in Summerhill, right at the beginning of the pandemic."

Of note: Georgia had seven James Beard semifinalists this year across several categories. Savang and Lassiter were the only ones to advance as finalists.

What's next: The winners will be revealed in a ceremony in Chicago on June 10.

See all the 2024 restaurant and chef nominees

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