Food and Wine's Hawaii Picks for People's Best New Chef

From left: Chris Kajioka, Kevin Lee, Sheldon Simeon

The public doesn't get much of a say in most national Best Chef awards. But Food and Wine's annual People's Best New Chef contest gives you a chance to cast your vote.

In the Northwest and Pacific region (100 chefs were picked out of 10 geographic regions), three Hawaii chefs made the cut:
– Chris Kajioka of Vintage Cave
– Kevin Lee of Prima
– Sheldon Simeon of Migrant Maui

Voting closes March 31.

(Update on the other big chef awards—the James Beard awards. Unfortunately, none of the five Hawaii semifinalists made the short list of finalists.)