Chefs from Wilmington and Hockessin named as semifinalists for prestigious James Beard Awards

Antimo DiMeo of Wilmington's Bardea Food & Drink and Bill Hoffman, who owns Hockessin's The House of William & Merry, have been chosen by the James Beard Foundation as semifinalists for the Best Chef award in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Anthony Andiario of Andiario in nearby West Chester, Pennsylvania, also was named as a semifinalist in the same category.

This is the first James Beard nomination for Hoffman, who has owned The House of William & Merry restaurant on Old Lancaster Pike with his wife Merry Catanuto for more than 10 years.

The pair, who operate the restaurant out of a historic farmhouse, is well-known for putting interesting twists on their menu items.

Hoffman said he has been "running around the kitchen" ever since he got the news.

"The crew from Heirloom down in Lewes called us and said, 'hey, you’re on the [Beard] list,'" Hoffman said. "Then, my phone started blowing up and, I thought, 'holy smokes, I think this is real.'"

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"We finally accomplished one of the goals we’ve been working toward for so long. I think about Pat D’Amico, my mentor who said one day it could happen," Hoffman said, adding "you wonder sometimes if being a little town like Hockessin if anyone is going to find you."

The chef said he's even more appreciative of the recognition after a rocky almost two years with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The fact that we are still here is, for me, is a miracle."

This is a second James Beard recognition for downtown Wilmington's Bardea and the first for DiMeo, who co-owns the modern Italian restaurant with Scott Stein.

"We're all ecstatic," Stein wrote in a text message Wednesday afternoon.

In 2019, Bardea on Market Street was named one of the country's best new restaurants by the Beard Foundation.

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The Bardea partners are close to opening a new steakhouse next to their flagship restaurant at Seventh and Market streets. They also run two stalls, a pizzeria, and a taqueria, in Wilmington's DECO Food Hall at 10th and Orange streets in Wilmington.

Hoffman and DiMeo are competing in the Best Chef: MidAtlantic region with other chefs from Washington, D.C., Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The Mid-Atlantic region is widely considered one of the Beard Foundation's most competitive categories.

This is the first round of nominees and the semifinalists list will be pared down by James Beard voters.

Restaurant and Chef Awards finalists, in addition to honorees for Leadership, Lifetime Achievement Award, and Humanitarian of the Year Awards will be revealed on March 16

Winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on June 13 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. For a complete list of semifinalists, visit jamesbeard.org/

The list of semifinalists for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA) includes:

Anthony Andiario, Andiario, West Chester, PA

Joey Baldino, Zeppoli, Collingswood, NJ

Angel Barreto, Anju, Washington, D.C.

Amy Brandwein, Centrolina, Washington, D.C.

Adam Diltz, Elwood, Philadelphia

Antimo DiMeo, Bardea Food & Drink, Wilmington, DE

Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, Canal House Station, Milford, NJ

Matt Hill, Ruthie’s All-Day, Arlington, VA

Bill Hoffman, The House of William & Merry, Hockessin, DE

Jesse Ito, Royal Izakaya, Philadelphia

Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski, Apteka, Pittsburgh

Wei Lu, China Chalet, Florham Park, NJ

Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia

Peter Prime, Cane, Washington, D.C.

Carlos Raba, Clavel Mezcaleria, Baltimore

Michael Rafidi, Albi, Washington, D.C.

Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, Kalaya Thai Kitchen, Philadelphia

Yuan Tang, Rooster & Owl, Washington, D.C.

Wei Zhu, Chengdu Gourmet, Pittsburgh

Bethany Zozula, 40 North at Alphabet City, Pittsburgh

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Bardea, House of William & Merry chefs are James Beard semifinalists