James Petrakis of the Ravenous Pig restaurant in Winter Park and Hari Pulapaka of Cress in Deland are finalists for “Food & Wine” magazine’s The People’s Best New Chef award in the Gulf Coast region. This is the first year that Pulapaka has been nominated in the annual contest; it is the second year for Petrakis. It is also his last — the rules stipulate that a “new” chef cannont be in the kitchen for more than five years.

Petrakis is also a semifinalist, along with his wife and partner, Julie, for a James Beard Foundation award.

The “Food & Wine” award is determined by popular vote. For more information about the award, and to cast your ballot for one of Central Florida’s finest, follow this link to Food & Wine’s The People’s Best New Chef page.

{fblike}