Three Austin Chefs In The Running For Food & Wine's People's Choice Best New Chef Award

Three Austin chefs--familiar faces to us all--have been nominated for Food & Wine's People's Best New Chef in their Southwest division. Two Top Chef alums, Andrew Curren of 24 Diner and Easy Tiger along with Actual Top Chef Paul Qui of Uchiko, made the list, and Foreign & Domestic's Ned Elliott rounds out the triumvirate. Chefs must have been in charge of their own kitchens for less than five years to qualify.

The People's award goes to the chef who garners the most votes between today, March 5th, and March 11th. So get to clicking if you know who you love. If you don't, meet the contestants over at the Food & Wine site, wherein we learn that Elliot is "making elegant, upscale food in a down-and-dirty Austin spot," that Qui's "must-try dish" is his Karaage, and Curren "grinds his own hamburger meat and whips the cream for milk shakes by hand."

· Food & Wine's People's Best New Chef, Southwest Division [Food & Wine]
· 24 Diner [Official]
· Foreign & Domestic [Official]
· Uchiko [Official]