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The James Beard Foundation announced its 2015 chef and restaurant finalists today and two Houston chefs made the cut. Hugo Ortega of Hugo's and Justin Yu of Oxheart are this year's finalists for the 2015 James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest.
Ortega was a finalist in the same category in 2012, 2013 and 2014, while last year was Yu's first time in the finalists circle. Best Chef Southwest has previously been won by Robert Del Grande of RDG + Bar Annie in 1992 and Underbelly's Chris Shepherd in 2014.
Winners will be announced at the Beard Awards in Chicago on May 4. For a complete list of this year's finalists -- which included nods for books, media, design and many other categories as well as regional chefs -- head over to the Mothership at Eater National.
