Your Daily Dose of Food News, Events and Must-Read Miscellany

1. The lengthy list of James Beard Award semifinalists has been whittled down to an elite list of finalists. Representing Seattle are Huxley Wallce’s Westward, nominated in the Outstanding Restaurant Design category, while Renee Erickson (The Whale Wins), Jason Franey (Canlis), and Ethan Stowell (Staple and Fancy) are among those competing for Best Chef Northwest. The full list is available on the James Beard Foundation’s website.

2. FareStart has announced the line up for its Guest Chef Spectacular, taking place on June 5 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM at the Showbox SoDo. More than 60 top restaurants, wineries, breweries, and distilleries will participate, with proceeds benefiting FareStart’s culinary job training programs. A full list of participating businesses is available online. Tickets go on sale April 1.

3. Ballard has a whole mess of breweries, and soon they’ll have a distillery, reports My Ballard. Details are thin but there’s a liquor license application sign in the window of the former Ballard Camera space on NW Market Street.

4. No surprise here, but a recent study shows Seattle residents do not drink Seattle’s Best Coffee. Our region’s chain of choice is Starbucks. Yahoo! Food wrote about the study, which maps America’s most popular coffee chains.