Rancho Loma expands: How a self-taught chef is building a low-key restaurant empire in West Texas Chef Laurie Williamson of Rancho Loma was named a semifinalist for the annual James Beard Awards this year. Chef Laurie Williamson runs Rancho Loma and Black Cur steakhouse in West Texas.(Robert Williamson) When a friend texted her one morning last February with congratulations for being named among semifinalists for Best Chef: Texas in the annual James Beard Awards, Laurie Williamson typed her response: “I don’t think this [text] was for me.” Then the friend forwarded a link to an online story naming all semifinalists. There, in alphabetical order, right after “Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo Restaurant, Austin,” was “Laurie Williamson, Rancho Loma, Talpa, TX.”