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Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 11:53AM
On the 19th of February the list of Semifinalists for the James Beard Awards 2013were announced.
We are very proud of our very own Chef Greg Baker to be considered for "Best Chef South" for the third year consecutively.
The list is available as a PDF here: James Beard Award Semifinalists 2013
Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 10:49PM 
Life has been a blur for Greg Baker, Chad Johnson and Richard Gonzmart since late-February, when all three were named semifinalists for prestigious James Beard Foundation culinary awards.
For Baker, chef and co-owner at The Refinery in Tampa, the recognition for Best Chef in the South brought a surge in business and elbow-rubbing with visiting celebrity chef Mario Batali.
For Johnson, who is up for the same award, the past month saw a boom in reservations at SideBern’s in Tampa, where he is executive chef. The Beard honor also propelled him into the unfamiliar act of greeting customers who now clamor to meet him.
Gonzmart, up for Outstanding Restaurateur, has been busy planning a new restaurant at the former Tampa Water Works along the Hillsborough River while serving 15 percent more diners at his family’s venerable Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.
The semifinal nod is Baker’s second in two years and the first for Johnson and Gonzmart. It is the first time the Tampa area has received such heavy Beard recognition.
On Monday, the Beard Foundation is scheduled to name which honorees will proceed to the finals. The awards will be given out May 7 in New York City.
On the eve of the finals, we invited Baker, Gonzmart and Johnson to talk about Tampa’s development as a food destination and what it all means for the area’s culinary industry.
Read more of this story: http://www2.tbo.com/lifestyles/life/2012/mar/18/tampas-changing-taste-national-spotlight-shines-on-ar-382180/
Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 10:46PM 
By Tom Sietsema, Published: August 15
I can’t forecast what anyone will be eating at The Refinery the week the Republicans meet in Tampa. In the 21 / 2 years since Greg Baker and his wife, Michelle, opened the funky foodie favorite in Seminole Heights, the chef has yet to repeat a single dish on the menu. Every Thursday, he whips up an entirely new list. Baker’s response to customers who might want to revisit a favorite meal: “Let’s see if I can make you happy with something else.”
While diners can’t predict what they’ll find, they can expect some pleasant surprises from the exposed kitchen. I was dubious about warm watermelon until I tasted it with pickled mango puree, a shock of jalapeño and a crouton dabbed with blue cheese. (The chef digs combinations of sweet and spicy; chances are you will, too.) The first-time restaurant operator rethinks french fries by using mushrooms, which he purees with onions, celery, thyme, wine and cream, then thickens with chickpea and tapioca flours, and pours into a sheet pan to bake. Cut into strips and fried to a crunch, they are a substantial snack made sassier with
Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 10:55PM 
Between Readers and Critics choices, The Refinery took six awards as well: Best Chef (third year running), Best Server (Peter Font), Best All Around Restaurant (second year running), Best Best Food-Meets-Music Tradition, Best Restaurant Tag Team for the work of husband and wife duo Greg and Michelle Baker and Best Social Media Food Moment of the RNC when former New York Times food critic Frank Bruni tweeted about the restaurant. - Seminole Heights Patch News
Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 10:49PM 
The RNC may have been a bust for most businesses but it did bring national buzz to a treasured few. Former New York Times food critic and writer Frank Bruni cited The Refinery as one of his favorite moments of the convention.
“On the subject of food and Florida, The Refinery in Tampa is a REALLY good resto. That and, um, Clint were the #RNC highlights.” - Frank Bruni