Announcing The 2012 James Beard Foundation Awards Nominees

Back in February the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists, and starting at 2 p.m. ET, JBF will reveal nominations for the 2012 James Beard Foundation Awards.

The Daily Meal's video producer Ali Rosen will be tweeting up a storm as she films at The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas, but we'll be updating you as nominations are announced right here.

Award nominations include the following categories: Restaurant and Chef; Book; Broadcast Media; Journalism; and Restaurant Design and Graphics.

The JBF Awards ceremony will take place May 7.

2:20 p.m. Awards announcements start at 2:30, JBF tweets. The livestream from The Venetian is playing Rihanna's "Only Girl in the World" and Justin Timberlake's "My Love."

2:33 p.m. No more music; Susan Ungaro steps up to give customary shout-outs and name drops Julia Child. JBF is celebrating its 25 years. She also plugs the upcoming James Beard cookbook.

2:42 p.m. Journalism awards announcement starts. There are 17 categories total, but Bon Appétit got a bunch, as well as Gilt Taste and Saveur. For restaurant reviews, Alison Cook from the Houston Chronicle, Jonathan Gold (surprise surprise) for LA Weekly, and Alan Richman from GQ. The MFK Fisher nominations are  Tamar Adler ("Sibling Rivalry at the Stove," Gilt Taste), John T. Edge ("BBQ Nation," Saveur), and Todd Kliman ("The Problem of Authenticity," Lucky Peach).

2:56 p.m.  Best TV food personality nominees are Ted Allen for Chopped, Sara Moulton for Sara's Weeknight Meals, and Ina Garten for Barefoot Contessa.

2:59 p.m. Oh hey, our very own Colman Andrews gets a nomination for The Country Cooking of Italy. Modernist Cuisine and Eleven Madison Park also got nominations, as well as Notes from a Kitchen (the last for photography). Not surprising.

3:11 p.m. Wolfgang Puck gets his lifetime achievement award. In the meantime, Charlie Trotter gets Humanitarian of the Year. JBF will also honor Grant Achatz, Mark Bittman, Dana Cowin, Emily Luchetti, and Marvin Shanken.

3:21 p.m. Rising Star Chef of the Year nominees are Dave Beran of Next, Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese Food, Thomas McNaughton of flour + water, Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar, and Sue Zemanick of Gautreau's. 

3:25 p.m. Wow, they went through those quickly. For Best New Restaurant, AQ, Fiola, Isa, Next, and Tertulia made the cut. Oustanding Restaurant nominees are New York City heavy, with both Balthazar and Blue Hill. San Francisco's Boulevard, Birmingham, Ala.'s Highlands Bar and Grill, and Philadelphia's Vetri.

And for the big one, Outstanding Chef, the nominees are David Chang of Momofuku, Gary Danko of Restaurant Gary Danko, Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park, Paul Kahan of Blackbird, Donald Link of Herbsaint, and Nancy Silverton of Pizzeria Mozza. 

Check out the complete 2012 James Beard Awards nominees here.