Two Providence chefs are among the semifinalists for Best Chef Northeast in the 27th annual James Beard Foundation Awards, considered the Oscars of the food world.

It's the third nomination in five years for Ben Sukle, who was nominated for his restaurant Birch. For the second year in a row, Derek Wagner is a semifinalist for his Nick's on Broadway.

Sukle earned James Beard nominations for Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2012 for The Dorrance; and Best Chef Northeast in 2014 for Birch, his first restaurant opened with wife, Heidi Sukle. The couple opened Oberlin last January.

"None of this is possible without the support of my wife, Heidi, who supports me 100 percent," he said of the news. "Above that is the wonderful team, at both Birch and Oberlin, who gives us the personality we are today. They all made this happen," he said.

Wagner was honored with a 2014 StarChefs sustainability award for his Nick's on Broadway, which focuses on ingredients from many local farms and small food artisans. He sits on the board of Chef’s Collaborative, a national nonprofit network with a mission to build a better food system.

In 2002, Wagner opened a small space on Broadway serving breakfast, lunch and what quickly became one of the city’s most popular brunches. He moved to 500 Broadway three years later, expanding to include a bar and full dinner service.

The Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists were selected from a list of more than 24,000 online entries and the Beard Restaurant and Chef Committee. The committee produces a nominating ballot that lists the semifinalists in each of the 21 Restaurant and Chef Award categories.

The semifinalists will next be voted on by an independent volunteer panel of more than 600 judges. The judging panel — leading regional restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators, and past James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Award winners — then votes on the five nominees to select the finalists, who will be announced on March 15 and then the winners who will be feted in Chicago on May 1.

Johanne Killeen and the late George Germon are the only Rhode Island chefs to have won the Best Chef Northeast Beard Award, for Al Forno in 1993.

The other 18 semifinalists for Best Chef Northeast are Unmi Abkin, Coco & The Cellar Bar, Easthampton, Massachusetts.; Karen Akunowicz, Myers + Chang, Boston; Tyler Anderson, Millwright’s, Simsbury, Connecticut.; Mucuy Bolles and Christian Makay, Three Stones, Brattleboro, Vermont; Alex Crabb, Asta, Boston; Steve and Ellen Gedra, The Black Sheep, Buffalo, New York; Brian Hill, Francine Bistro, Camden, Maine; Jeffrey Lizotte, Present Company, Simsbury, Connecticut; Matt Louis, Moxy, Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Evan Mallett, Black Trumpet, Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Tony Messina, Uni, Boston; Ravin Nakjaroen, Long Grain, Camden, Maine; Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, Massachusetts; Susan Regis, Shepard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Marc Sheehan, Loyal Nine, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Keiko Suzuki Steinberger, Suzuki’s Sushi Bar, Rockland, Maine; Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley, Eventide Oyster Co., Portland, Maine; and Jordan Ware, Hen of the Wood, Burlington, Vermont.