The James Beard Foundation has released its list of semifinalists in the 2015 Restaurant and Chef Awards, including the first-ever Outstanding Bakery category. Over the next month, this list will be pared down. On Tuesday, March 24, the finalists will be announced.

Several of the semifinalists in both Outstanding Baker and Outstanding Pastry Chef categories were featured in bake magazine's special issue of twentyfive.

The winners of the Chef and Restaurant awards will be announced at the official Awards Gala & Reception on Monday, May 4, 2015 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Outstanding Baker
Evan Andres, Columbia City Bakery, Seattle
Leif Bjelland, Le Petit Outre, Missoula, MT
Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Cafe, Boston
Andre Chin and Amanda Eap, Artisan Boulanger Patissier, Philadelphia
Judy Contino, Bittersweet Pastry, Chicago
Cheryl and Griffith Day, Back in the Day Bakery, Savannah, GA
Abe Faber and Christy Timon, Clear Flour Bakery, Brookline, MA
Mark Furstenberg, Bread Furst, Washington, D.C.
Zachary Golper, Bien Cuit, Brooklyn, NY
Tim Healea, Little T American Baker, Portland, OR
Stephen Horton, Rustica Bakery, Minneapolis
Marie Jackson, The Flaky Tart, Atlantic Highlands, NJ
John Kraus, Patisserie 46, Minneapolis
Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery, NYC
Phoebe Lawless, Scratch Bakery, Durham, NC
Belinda Leong and Michel Suas, B. Patisserie, San Francisco
Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, Baked, Brooklyn, NY
Cheryl Maffei and Jonathan Stevens, Hungry Ghost, Northampton, MA
Dave and Megan Miller, Baker Miller Bakery & Millhouse, Chicago
Lauren Mitterer, WildFlour Pastry, Charleston, SC
Alison Pray, Standard Baking Co., Portland, ME
Michael Runsvold, Acme Bakeshop, Boise, ID
Lionel Vatinet, La Farm Bakery, Cary, NC
Edmund and Kathleen Weber, Della Fattoria, Petaluma, CA
William Werner, Craftsman and Wolves, San Francisco

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Bill Corbett, Absinthe Group, San Francisco
Dana Cree, Blackbird, Chicago
Caitlin Dysart, 2941, Falls Church, VA
Kelly Fields, Restaurant August/Besh Restaurant Group, New Orleans
Kate Jacoby, Vedge, Philadelphia
Michelle Karr-Ueoka, MW Restaurant, Honolulu
Maura Kilpatrick, Oleana, Cambridge, MA
Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, Spuntino, Denver
Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles
Salvatore Martone, L'Atelier Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas
Ron Mendoza, Aubergine at L'Auberge Carmel, Carmel, CA
Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL
Pamela Moxley, Miller Union, Atlanta
Kristen Murray, Måurice, Portland, OR
Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
Ghaya Oliveira, Daniel, NYC
Amanda Rockman, Nico Osteria, Chicago
Christina Tosi, Momofuku, NYC
Nick Wesemann, The American Restaurant, Kansas City, MO
Jennifer Yee, Lafayette, NYC