California, Texas and New York will become their own regions for the competition, reflecting shifts in population and dining.
The James Beard Foundation is shaking up its restaurant award regions, carving the country into new territories to better reflect shifts in population and dining.
The changes, which the national culinary organization planned to announce on Tuesday, reflect growth in the number of restaurants outside traditional food powerhouses like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco that meet the foundation’s standards, said Mitchell Davis, its chief strategy officer.
The group will now give out awards in 12 regions instead of 10, allowing it to add 40 new restaurants, bars and chefs to a lengthy list of semifinalists that has already topped 400. A committee of 20 food writers, editors and producers is charged with sifting through thousands of recommendations from regional judges, industry professionals and the public to create the semifinal list.
“It’s more reactive to the reality of what the country is right now,” Mr. Davis said. “At one time in America, there weren’t 40 restaurants you wanted to shine the light on.”