Meet the Eater Young Guns Finalists for 2013

Now comes the time to introduce the Eater Young Guns Class of 2013, a group of 15 of the most distinguished young chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers and hospitality industry professionals nationwide. These junior statesmen of the culinary world have distinguished themselves this past year, and will be the next culinary stars.

The class of 15 includes four women and 11 men; seven chefs, three beverage pros, two pastry chefs and three front-of-house leaders. Our own Nicole Grimes at Rao's at Caesars Palace made the semi-finalist list but did not move on to the finals.

Here's a look at the winners:
· Shion Aikawa, Director of Operations, Ramen Tatsu-Ya, Austin, TX
· Mike Brown, Chef/Co-owner, Travail and Pig Ate My Pizza, Robbinsdale, MN
· Alyssa DiPasquale, Manager and Advanced Sake Professional, O Ya, Boston, MA
· Jeremy Hoffman, Chef de Cuisine, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
· Ryan Lachaine, Sous Chef, Underbelly, Houston, TX
· Matt Lackey, Executive Chef, Flyte World Dining and Wine, Nashville, TN
· Jessica Largey, Chef de Cuisine, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
· Mitch Lienhard, Sous Chef, Grace, Chicago, IL
· Jayce McConnell, Bar Program Manager, Snackbar, Oxford, MS
· Brooks Reitz, General Manager, The Ordinary, Charleston, SC
· Alissa Rozos, Pastry Chef, St. Jack, Portland, OR
· Hourie Sahakian, Pastry Chef, Short Cake, Los Angeles, CA
· Mark Schieber, Cook and Kitchen Manager, Forequarter, Madison, WI
· Henri Schock, Proprietor and Wine Director, Bottlehouse, Seattle, WA
· Jason Wang, President, Xi'an Famous Foods, New York, NY

These Eater Young Gun contestants made it through three rounds of selections that started with a public call for nominations in February. More than 2,700 nominees came through. Eater editors and the official selection committee made up of a group of some of the most well-respected chefs and restaurateurs in the country whittled that list down to 50 semi-finalists. A final round of voting narrowed the list down to 15.

Swag for each Young Gun class member includes an official winner's patch, a limited edition bottle of champagne and a lifetime of bragging rights. Members of the public can sample the food of many of these stars at Young Guns Eve in Los Angeles (buy tickets here) this coming Sunday night before they're all feted on Monday, June 24, at a star-studded industry event.
· The Eater Young Guns Class of 2013 REVEALED [~EN~]
· All Coverage of Eater Young Guns 2013 [~ELV~]