Today is when shiz gets real.

This morning the James Beard Foundation winnowed down its longlist of potential honorees to the actual finalists...generally five in each category. And, wow. None of the national categories are fielding Seattle or Washington chefs, though per the politics of the process, most winners must spend a few years getting semifinalist nods before advancing to an actual nomination. As Bethany Jean Clement noted over at The Seattle Times, Portland didn't get any national nods either. Weird year.

But! Here's how Best Chef Northwest shook out. Big congrats to Renee Erickson, Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, and Blaine Wetzel, who previously won the nationwide Rising Star Chef award.

The award ceremony happens May 4 in Chicago; Alton Brown is hosting.

Best Chef: Northwest Finalists

• Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton of the mighty, meaty Ox in Portland
• Renee Erickson, technically nominated for the Whale Wins, obviously known around here for many other things.
• Blaine Wetzel of the Willows Inn on Lummi Island 
• Justin Woodward of Castagna, also in Portland
• Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, nominated interestingly enough for Joule, rather than Revel or too-new Trove

On the books and journalism front, the mighty brains at ChefSteps picked up nominations for video webcast and (duh) visual and technical excellence, Molly Wizenberg's lovely Orangette is up for individual food blog and, well, yours truly in the beverage writing category for this story. OMFG indeed.