Bluestem’s Colby Garrelts is a James Beard Award finalist

Will the fifth time be the charm for Bluestem’s Colby Garrelts? The finalists for the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced yesterday, and Garrelts was one of the five finalists in the category of Best Chef: Midwest.

Garrelts is up against Justin Aprahamian of Sanford in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Isaac Becker of 122 Eatery in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Tory Miller of L’Etoile of Madison, Wisconsin; and Lenny Russo, of Heartland in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jonathan Justus, the chef and co-owner of Justus Drugstore, was a semifinalist for the same award.