Vote For New Orleans Chef Of The Year

On Thursday, November 17, Eater will present the 2016 Eater Awards, our seventh annual celebration of all that's made the restaurant world run — and run wild — in the past 12 months. Winners will be selected on both the local and national levels in five major categories, and the voting begins right now. The poll’s now closed for restaurant of the year. Next up? Chef of the Year.

The finalists include New Orleans culinary icon Susan Spicer, who added new Navarre neighborhood restaurant Rosedale to her empire this year. Besh Group pastry whiz kids Kelly Fields and Lisa White, who continue to dominate the Warehouse District with their outstanding bakery and eatery Willa Jean. The ever creative sandwich and stoner-snacks guru Mason Hereford, who brought LGD gem Turkey And The Wolf onto the scene. Super empire builder Phillip Lopez, who opened Italian deli Part & Parcel and is about to launch French bistro Petit Lion, both in the trendy Warehouse District. And ultra-busy do-gooder chef Dan Esses, who basically saved Central City’s Dryades Public Market from the brink of destruction and also expanded Three Muses to a new Uptown location in 2016.

Cast your vote for the chef that really made a difference this year below.

Here's how the voting works: Eater editors have named nominees in New Orleans for each of five major categories, Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, Design of the Year, Bar of the Year, and Hottest Restaurant of the Year. Editors will pick winners from the nominees, and readers will vote to award one nominee in each category with a readers’ choice award. Ready to play your part? This poll will be open for 24 hours; voting irregularities will be strictly policed.