Applause was enthusiastic inside Parc restaurant in Philadelphia on March 14, 2018.

Chefs, restaurant owners, foodies and journalists had gathered there for the announcement of the 2018 James Beard Award nominees. The annual awards, put on by the James Beard Foundation, recognize the best of the best in the culinary scene.

This year, four of the nominations were clenched by Philadelphia restaurants and chefs. Vedge chef Rich Landau was nominated for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group was nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur. Camille Cogswell, the pastry chef at Zahav, was nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year. Finally, Zahav itself was nominated for Outstanding Service.

Philly was the only city in Pennsylvania to score nominations. However, central Pennsylvanians can cheer for Middletown native Benjamin Sukle, who was nominated for Best Chef: Northeast for his work at his Rhode Island restaurant Oberlin.

You can watch the nomination announcements in the video playlist below.

Can't see the playlist? Click here.

The nomination meant a lot to Yin. Being included in the list of Outstanding Restaurateurs requires nominees to set national standards in owning and running a restaurant. Nominees must also have at least ten years of experience in the culinary field.

"After being in business for 20 years, it's an amazing honor and to be included with so many highly acclaimed restaurateurs," she said. "I never imagined that in my 20 years of business that I'd be standing here."

This is the fourth year that Landau has been nominated for a James Beard Award, but this time was different.

"To be in this room with all your peers and all these chefs and restaurateurs and to get a round of applause is just amazing. It's indescribable," Landau said. "I'm thrilled."

Cogswell is another veteran James Beard nominee, having been nominated for Rising Star Chef in 2017 as well.

"I'm speechless," she said.

Her nomination was no surprise for Zahav chef and owner Michael Solomonov. "Camille is amazing," he said. "I'm very happy to be able to work with her and just to watch her do her thing... Camille is the real thing. She's a star."

When asked what a James Beard nomination means to a chef, Solomonov (who won Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic last year) responded: "It's the recognition we're all sort of looking for from the day we started chopping onions."

It means more pressure for Zahav general manager Okan Yazici though, whose team earned the restaurant its Outstanding Service nod. For him, the nomination is about representing the city of Philadelphia at a national level.

"This is hospitality of Philadelphia, not just Zahav," Yazici said. "Being there, representing it, is just like Nick Foles playing the Super Bowl."

As for advice for those hoping to become chefs and earn James Beard nominations themselves, Landau had this to say:

"It's a lot more work and a lot less money than you ever dreamed of. But you have to be driven, you have to be passionate. Forget about Top Chef and even James Beard Awards. You do it because you love to cook, you love food and you can't not do it."

The James Beard Awards will be held on May 7 at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. For more information on the awards visit jamesbeard.org.

Want to dine at one of the nominated establishments?

Vedge is located at 1221 Locust St., Philadelphia. Its website is vedgerestaurant.com. Zahav is at 237 St. James Place, Philadelphia. Its website is zahavrestaurant.com. Yin's High Street Hospitality Group owns multiple restaurants in Philadelphia and New York including Fork (306 Market St., Philadelphia; forkrestaurant.com), High Street on Market (308 Market St., Philadelphia; highstreetonmarket.com) and A.Kitchen and Bar (135 S. 18th St., Philadelphia; akitchenandbar.com). You can learn more about the group at highsthospitality.com.

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