Kitchen workers at Taj Indian Cuisine prepare food on Nov. 28. The South Portland restaurant is one of 10 Maine semifinalists, announced Wednesday, for this year’s James Beard Awards. Taj is nominated in the Outstanding Hospitality category. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Ten Maine restaurants, bars, chefs and industry professionals earned semifinalist nominations from the prestigious James Beard Awards on Wednesday.

The nominations ran the gamut from national categories, such as Outstanding Restaurant, Outstanding Hospitality and Emerging Chef to three Southern Maine chefs listed among semifinalists for the Best Chef: Northeast category.

In national category nominations, Havana in Bar Harbor was listed among contenders for Outstanding Restaurant; Jason Eckerson and Kate Hamm of Biddeford’s Fish & Whistle were nominated in the Emerging Chef category; Brant Dadaleares of Gross Confection Bar in Portland was nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker (a category that Atsuko Fujimoto of Norimoto Bakery won last year); and Taj Indian Cuisine in South Portland was nominated for Outstanding Hospitality (Woodford Food & Beverage was a semifinalist last year);

Jason Eckerson, chef and co-owner at Fish & Whistle, and his wife and co-owner, Kate Hamm, have been nominated for a James Beard award in the Emerging Chef category. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

This year, the foundation has added several new national categories, and Maine was well represented in those as well. The Abbey in Brunswick was nominated for the new category of Best New Bar; Mary Allen Lindemann of Coffee By Design is a semifinalist in the new category of Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service; and Nathaniel Meiklejohn of The Jewel Box is a semifinalist in the new category of Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

In the Best Chef: Northeast category, nominations went to Lee Frank of Lee Frank’s in South Berwick and Wells, Jordan Rubin of Mr. Tuna, and Jake Stevens of Leeward. Stevens was also a semifinalist in the same category last year.

All categories have 20 semifinalists. The finalists will be announced April 2, when the categories will be cut down to five contenders each, except for 10 in the Best New Restaurant category. The awards ceremony is set for June 16 in Chicago.