The James Beard Awards are back — and three Baltimore chefs and a Chinese restaurant have been named semifinalists.
Canton’s NiHao was named in the category of Best New Restaurant, while one of its founders, Peter Chang, was a semifinalist in the Outstanding Chef category for his work at his eponymous restaurants in Maryland and Virginia. A new branch of Peter Chang is set to open in Columbia this fall.
Lydia Chang, chef Chang’s daughter and co-owner of NiHao, said she was pleasantly surprised by the shoutout for the Baltimore restaurant she helped launch during the pandemic. “We didn’t expect it,” she said, adding that her dad, hearing that he had been nominated in the Outstanding Chef category, simply shrugged. “‘The day moves on,’” Chang said he told her.
Meanwhile, Charleston’s Cindy Wolf was “excited” to be named a semifinalist in the Outstanding Chef category, according to her business partner
