Nominees for the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards, which are kind of like the Academy Awards for chefs, have just been announced. This year’s ceremony will take place on June 8 at Avery Fischer Hall; New York contenders include Gavin Keysen of Café Boulud, up for Rising Star Chef. For the nationwide awards, Gothamist interviewees Dan Barber and Michael Psilakis have been nominated for Outstanding Chef and Best New Restaurant, respectively. Gramercy Tavern, owned by Danny Meyer, is up for Outstanding Restaurant. The full list is here.

The James Beard Foundation also hands out a few New York-specific awards. For Best Chef this year, Gramercy Tavern’s Michael Anthony goes up against industry legend Terrance Brennan of Picholine, David Chang representing his Momofuku Ssäm Bar, Wylie Dufresne of WD-50, and past nominee Gabriel Kreuther at The Modern.

Coverage from last year’s Beard Foundation Awards, including a very lovely picture of Martha Stewart and Momofuku’s Dave Chang, over here.

Photo: Dan Barber at Blue Hill Stone Barns.