Five of Maine’s 11 James Beard Award semifinalists have moved on as nominees in the foundation’s 25th annual recognition of the nation’s best chefs and restaurants.

Finalists announced Tuesday morning at the James Beard Foundation in New York City are:
• Central Provisions, Portland: Best New Restaurant

• Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley, Eventide Oyster Company and Hugo’s, both in Portland: Best Chef: Northeast

• Masa Miyake, Miyake and Pai Men Miyake, both in Portland: Best Chef: Northeast

• Cara Stadler, Tao Yuan, Brunswick, and Bao Bao, Portland: Rising Star Chef of the Year

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In Portland’s ever-expanding restaurant scene, Central Provisions is this city’s newest and perhaps brightest star. Chef and co-proprietor Chris Gould has created some of the most inventive food in Portland right now. After multiple visits and some 30 dishes, the restaurant’s trendy small-plate concept has been superbly achieved on each occasion. The format further allows you to create your own tasting menu from a list of nearly 50 small plates ($5 to $26) that form a fusion of cooking styles inspired by the cuisines of Europe, Asia and the Americas.

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If you haven’t heard, Central Provisions is up and running—and it’s the proverbial runaway success right out of the gate. I stopped in on Night One (Tuesday) on my way to dinner nearby, and the place was jammed with patrons looking as though they’d been going there all their lives, sporting happy-go-lucky grins with their rears firmly planted on seats at the bar and tables upstairs and down.

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Since last August, we've known that former Boston chef Chris Gould (Uni Sashimi Bar at Clio) was planning to open a restaurant in Portland, but it wasn't until this week, when Richard Borelli of Harriman Architects appeared before Portland's Historic Preservation Board, that any more news was revealed.

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