Vote Now for New Orleans' 2011 Chef of the Year

The marathon run-up to the 2011 Eater Awards continues today. Yesterday we asked you to help decide what was the hottest restaurant in town, narrowing it down to powerhouse trio of Ancora, The Company Burger and Sylvain. Consider this more proof that Freret Street is a hotbed of new restaurant deliciousness.

Today we turn our attention to the people actually planning the menus and cooking the food, as we try to determine who will be named Chef of the Year. In a city with so much phenomenal talent, it was nigh impossible to narrow it down to just five, and certainly an argument could be made for many, many others. But these are the five that we believe have, quietly or not, established themselves as leaders in the New Orleans culinary scene.

As always, your votes will help narrow it down to three finalists, from which we'll determine the winner. The poll is open for 24 hours, and voting irregularities will be strictly enforced. So let's get a-voting.