She was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 2005. The past two years she’s been nominated for the James Beard Award’s Best Chef in the Northwest award. Last year The New York Times’ Frank Bruni named her Wallingford restaurant, Tilth, one of the Top Ten in the country.

And yesterday she took the James Beard prize for the Best Chef in the Northwest.

Hines beat out a slew of other nominees, who boiled down to these finalists: Jason Wilson of Crush; Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez of Harvest Vine and Txori; Ethan Stowell of Union, Tavolata, How To Cook a Wolf, and Anchovies & Olives; and Cathy Whims of Portland’s Nostrana.

Really stiff competition. Really well-deserved. Brava Maria.