(Left to Right) Chef Vishwesh Bhatt, Chef Asha Gomez & Sommelier Rajat Parr, the three Indian Americans nominated for the 2017 James Beard Award

SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — The James Beard Foundation has announced its nominees for this year’s restaurant and chef awards. The list includes three Indian Americans from different walks of culinary life in the United States.

Indian-American sommelier Rajat Parr has been nominated in the “who’s who” category of the prestigious awards, often referred to as the Academy Awards of food. Parr, who is from the Northern California-based Domaine De La Cote winery, previously won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional in 2015.

Vishwesh Bhatt, the executive chef of Snackbar, is  vying for the Best Chef: South Category, which honors the best chef from the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Los Angeles, Mississippi and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Bhatt is known for serving southern and French food with a twist, using flavors and techniques from India with traditional southern ingredients.

Finally, another Indian American honored with a nomination is chef and cookbook author Asha Gomez, of Atlanta, Ga. Gomez’s book with Martha Hall Foose, ‘My Two Souths: Blending the flavors of India into a Southern Kitchen’ is competing in the American Cooking category of the James Beard Foundation Book Awards.

The 2017 James Beard Awards Gala, hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson of ABC’s award winning television show “Modern Family” will take place on Monday, May 1, at the Lyric Opera House of Chicago.