Here are a few upcoming wine and beer dinners across the Triangle:

• Hope Valley Bottle Shop has seven upcoming wine dinners, including an Italian wine dinner at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 20 at Nana's in Durham. It cost $55. To see the complete list of wine dinners, go HERE. Call 493-8545 for a reservation.
• Guglhupf in Durham is offering an Austrian wine dinner at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 21. For details and the menu, go HERE. For a reservation, call 401-2600.

• Jibarra restaurant in Raleigh is offering a four-course dinner with five Saison-style beer pairings. The dinner is 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 21. It costs $55. Go HERE for details and menu. Call 755-0556 for a reservation.
• Durham’s Vin Rouge is partnering with Wine Authorities to offer a five-course wine dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 22. Winemaker Joseph Landron will be the special guest. It costs $75. Go HERE for the menu. Call 416-0466 for a reservation. (If you can’t make the dinner, you can meet Landron and taste his wines from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday at Wine Authorities. For more information, go to http://wineauthorities.com.)
• Jujube restaurant in Chapel Hill is offering a four-course dinner with wine pairings  from the Paul Hobbs Winery. It will be 7 p.m. March 28. Go HERE for the menu. Call 960-0555 for a reservation. It costs $57.50. 
• ADDED: Weathervane, the restaurant at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, is offering a five-course dinner featuring wines from Gil Family Estates at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 28. Go HERE to read the menu. It costs $70. To make a reservation, call 929-9466.

The semifinalists for the annual James Beard Foundation awards were announced this morning. Among the North Carolina folks recognized:

• Sean Lilly Wilson, Fullsteam Brewery in Durham and Eric Solomon of Eric Solomon Selections European Cellars in Charlotte for outstanding wine and spirits professional.
• Katie Button of Cúrate in Asheville for Rising Star Chef.
• And among those considered for Best Chef Southeast: Ashley Christensen of Poole's in Raleigh; John Fleer of Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley in Cashiers; Vivian Howard of Chef & the Farmer in Kinston; Scott Howell of Nana's in Durham; and Aaron Vandemark of Panciuto in Hillsborough. 
• Magnolia Grill in Durham for Outstanding Restaurant.

The James Beard awards are considered the Oscars of the food world. Only three North Carolina chefs have received James Beard awards: Ben Barker and Karen Barker at Magnolia Grill and Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill.

The finalists will be announced 11 a.m. March 19. The winners will be announced May 7 at a gala in New York City.

The Cookery, a culinary incubator in Durham, is now offering cooking classes, and the first one is Thursday, Sept. 8 with Daisy Cakes owner Tanya Catalos.

Catalos will teach a class on late summer fruit tarts. The class costs $40.

Here is the rest of the current lineup:

• Rue Cler's chef de cuisine Aaron Benjamin will teach how to break down a whole chicken and rabbit at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 12 for $40.
• Triangle Raw Foodists Matthew Daniels and Jane Howard Crutchfield will teach a class on raw sushi rolling at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15 for $40.
• Triangle Brewing Company's Rick Tufts will teach Brewing 101 at noon Sept. 24 for $65.
• Nana's sous chef Brian Wiles will teach soup making at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 28 for $40.
• Cooking instructor Anne Everitt will teach a five-class series on kitchen fundamentals. The package costs $250. The 2-hour classes start at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 13, 20 and 27 and Nov. 3 and 10.

You must go online to book a class: http://durhamcookery.com/culinary-workshops
 

Chef Scott Howell of the fine dining destination Nana's in Durham is opening Nanataco next door in the space previously occupied by the Fish Shack and Rockwood Pizza.

Howell plans to open the restaurant on Aug. 16.

Howell's description of the restaurant is that it will be a classic taqueria in many aspects: a salsa bar, housemade tortillas, reasonable prices, including a 2-taco special with beans, rice and a drink for about $6.95 offered all the time. However, there will be other flourishs sure to satisfy the foodies: hog jowl tacos, rotisserie Ashley Farms chicken served with mole sauce and a Big Daddy burrito with hog jowl, duck confit and housemade chorizo. They also will serve $5 margaritas, bottled beer, milkshakes and smoothies.

The counter-service restaurant will be open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays and Sundays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. 

The James Beard Foundation announces its award finalists starting at 2 p.m. today, and seven Triangle chefs will learn if they made the cut.

Among the semifinalists for Best Chef in the Southeast are Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill; Ashley Christensen of Poole's Diner in Raleigh; Aaron Vandemark of Panciuto in Hillsborough; Chip Smith of Bonne Soiree in Chapel Hill; Scott Crawford of Herons at the Umstead Hotel in Cary; Scott Howell of Nana's in Durham; and Shane Ingram of Four Square Restaurant in Durham.

Durham's Magnolia Grill also is a semifinalist in the Outstanding Restaurant category. Its chef-owners Ben and Karen Barker are the state's only James Beard award-winning chefs.

James Beard was a cookbook author, cooking instructor and champion of regional American cuisine. The foundation  honors excellence in restaurants, chefs, wine service professionals, cookbook authors and food journalism.

To follow the announcement live, follow @beardfoundation and #jbfa on Twitter.

The list of James Beard Foundation semifinalists came out today and seven local chefs are on the list for Best Chef Southeast:

• Ashley Christensen, Poole's Diner of Raleigh
• Andrea Reusing, Lantern of Chapel Hill
• Chip Smith, Bonne Soiree in Chapel Hill
• Aaron Vandemark, Panciuto in Hillsborough
• Scott Crawford, Herons at Umstead Hotel in Cary
• Scott Howell, Nana's in Durham
• Shane Ingram, Four Square in Durham

"Nice! When it rains, it pours," said Vandemark, a first-time semifinalist who yesterday learned he was in the running for Food & Wine magazine's People's Choice Best New Chef 2011. (To read about that nomination and to vote for Vandemark, click HERE.)

Smith who has been named as a semifinalist several times before said he tries not to get too worked up about it. "We're just honored to be given a nod," he said.

Several of these chefs have been semifinalists before. This is Christensen's second year. Howell has been a semifinalist many times before. And last year Reusing (pictured left) progressed to finalist, as well as Bill Smith of Crook's Corner, but they lost to Sean Brock of McCrady's in Charleston, S.C.

Two other North Carolina chefs are semifinalists: Keith Rhodes of Catch in Wilmington and John Fleer of Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley in Cashiers, N.C. That means North Carolina chefs made up almost half of the Southeast semifinalists.

The only other North Carolina semifinalist is Eric Solomon of European Cellars in Charlotte for Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional.

These chefs and Solomon will learn on March 21 if they are among the five finalists in their categories. The winners will be announced May 9 at a gala in New York City.

Durham's Magnolia Grill also was nominated in the Outstanding Resturant category. Its chef-owners Ben and Karen Barker are the state's only James Beard award-winning chefs.

James Beard was a cookbook author, a cooking instructor and a champion of regional American cuisine. The Foundation, founded after his death, honors excellence in restaurants, chefs, pastry chefs, wine service professionals, cookbook authors and food journalism. The awards have often been described as the "Oscars of the food world."

Chef Scott Howell plans the menu and the folks at Hope Valley Bottle Shop chooses the wines.

The next dinner is 7 p.m. Dec. 14 featuring Vineyards Brands Wine. It costs $65 per person.

To see a list of the wines, go to www.nanasdurham.com/special-events/nanas-wine-dinners

Call 493-8545 for a reservation.
 

The James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for the Oscars of the food world. Several Triangle chefs and restaurants are on the list:

In the Outstanding Restaurant category, Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill and Magnolia Grill in Durham. Magnolia Grill also was nominated in the outstanding service category. 

Chefs Ben and Karen Barker, the husband-and-wife team behind Magnolia Grill, are the region's only James Beard winners. Ben Barker was named Best Chef in the Southeast in 2000, and Karen Barker was named America's best pastry chef in 2003.

A handful of Triangle chefs have been nominated in the Best Chef of the Southeast category: 

• Ashley Christensen of Poole's in Raleigh
• Scott Howell of Nana's in Durham
• Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill
• Bill Smith of Crook's Corner in Chapel Hil

Nominees were excited at the news. "I'm really happy," said Gene Hamer, owner of Crook's Corner. "It's wonderful that Bill Smith is getting the recognition he deserves...I've been very fortunate to have two great chefs -- Bill Neal and Bill Smith."

Smith was a finalist last year in the same category. 

The finalists will be named March 22. The winners will be announced May 3. 

Click on the document below to see the entire list of semifinalists. 

Documents:

Durham chefs will be serving up soup March 5 to raise money for Urban Ministries.

The event called Empty Bowls '10 raises funds for the Durham non-profit, which provides hot meals and food pantry for those in need. 

Soup will be served 5:30-8 p.m. Friday, March 5 at the Durham Armory, 220 Foster St. Durham.

Tickets cost $30 each, which includes a one-of-a-kind keepsake bowl made by a local artist. Or you can purchase tickets for $15 to just eat soup without the keepsake bowl. Children ages 6 and under eat free. To order tickets, call 682-0538 or click HERE. 

A panel of judges and the public will each pick their own favorite soup among those served. The restaurants that will serve soup, include Blu Seafood & Bar, Papa Mojo's Roadhouse, Revolution and Nana's.

Nana's and Hope Valley Bottle Shop are teaming up for another monthly wine dinner.  February's dinner is already sold out but here are the details for the March dinner:

• 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 23.
• Wines are from the Loire Valley from Muscadet, Touraine and Chinon.
• $55 per person plus tax and tip

Call 493-8545 for reservations.