Food & Wine magazine has just opened voting for its annual People's Best New Chef competition, in which a young chef is named best in the region according to votes from the public. The young chef with the most votes overall will be named the People's Best New Chef of 2014. 

In this particular competition, California gets a region all to itself, and Los Angeles has quite a number of our best and brightest young chefs represented. The L.A. chefs you can vote for are:
]
Red Medicine's Jordan Kahn. F&W has this to say about Kahn: “Why He's Amazing: Because he's created a menu full of fantastic Vietnamese flavors – and has never been to Vietnam.” Of course, Kahn has actually nixed almost all of the Vietnamese influence on his menu recently, but there are certainly many other reasons he's amazing. See our Top 10 Dishes of 2013 for proof.

Sqirl's Jessica Koslow. F&W says: “Why She's Amazing: Because her sought-after jams and pickles – made with rare heirloom varieties – have transformed the way we think about preserves. And she now features them in dishes – savory and sweet – at her terrific East Hollywood café.” You can read our review of Sqirl here. 

Bestia's Ori Menashe. F&W says: “Why He's Amazing: Because he's a meat virtuoso: Bestia's menu offers more than 60 forms of sensational house-made charcuterie, in addition to impeccable pastas and pizza.” You can read our review of Bestia here. 

Alma's Ari Taymor. F&W says: “Why He's Amazing: Because less than six months after launching Alma as a pop-up restaurant, he attracted a die-hard following and landed a permanent space for his fresh, farm-driven cooking.” You can read our review of Alma here. 

Night + Market's Kris Yenbamroong. F&W says: “Why He's Amazing: Because he created a terrific, innovative pork-centric Thai street food spot adjacent to his parents' well-respected but aging Thai restaurant on Sunset Boulevard.” Here's our take on why Night + Market is an essential L.A. restaurant. 

Voting for the People's Choice Best New Chef starts today and goes until March 31 –  here's where you can cast your vote. Go L.A.!

Want more Squid Ink? Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.