Top Chef Masters 2 - Meet Jerry Traunfeld

After graduating from the California Culinary Academy, Jerry Traunfeld served as executive chef at Alexis Hotel in Seattle and as a pastry chef at Jeremiah Tower’s Stars in San Francisco. After spending over 17 years honing his skills as executive chef of The Herbfarm, Traunfeld went on to open Seattle-based restaurant Poppy, named after his mother. The 2000 James Beard Award winner for Best American Chef: Northwest and Hawaii, he is the author of The Herbfarm Cookbook, The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor, and has appeared on Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes and Gardens, The Splendid Table, and a host of other television and radio programs.

James Beard Semi-Finalists Named

There are some familiar names among the James Beard semi-finalists this year. There were twenty names in each category - the pack will be thinned down yet again and finalists will be announced March 22 in New Orleans.

OUTSTANDING CHEF
Tom Colicchio, Craft, NYC (Host, Top Chef)
Mark Peel, Campanile, Los Angeles (Top Chef Masters 1 & 2)
Jerry Traunfeld, Poppy, Seattle (Top Chef Masters 2)

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR
Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta (Finalist, Top Chef 6)

BEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC
Bryan Voltaggio, Volt, Frederick, MD (Finalist, Top Chef 6)

BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY
Wylie Dufresne, WD-50 (Top Chef Masters 1 & 2)
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto (Top Chef Masters 1 & 2)

BEST CHEF: PACIFIC
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles (Top Chef Masters 1)