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Time Out
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
An L.A. chef just took home the James Beard Award for Best Chef: California
Jon Yao, the Taiwanese American chef behind Michelin-starred Kato in the Arts District, took home one of the top prizes at the James Beard Foundation Awards—the only nominee in Southern California to do so. The annual awards ceremony, which takes place in Chicago (almost) every year, recognizes excellence in restaurants, bars and food media, including books, broadcast media and journalism and is widely understood as the Oscars of the (American) food world. In 2016, Yao first opened Kato inside a West L.A. strip mall, and moving the restaurant to the Arts District in 2022. Immediately, the then-scrappy restaurant attracted the attention of critics for its uniquely Asian American spin on fine dining. Over the years, the self-taught chef has honed his craft and grown into one of the city's best restaurants, at least if you ask me. In 2022, Kato earned its first Michelin star; last year, the restaurant was named as 'one to watch' by the World's 50 Best Restaurants organization, which has yet to name any L.A. eatery to its prestigious annual list. 'The restaurant and the food we serve [at Kato], it's really a medium for storytelling. It's representative of a lot of immigrant stories,' Yao said in a backstage interview clip provided to media. 'There's a lot more restaurants like ours. It's not just ours. We're very proud to be part of that fabric.' Like last year, just one L.A. restaurant, bar or food media publication has taken home a national James Beard Award. In the spring, five other local restaurants, bars, bakeries and writers were nominated for various awards, including Long Beach's Gusto Bread for 'Outstanding Bakery' and Tobin Shea, bar director behind Redbird in Downtown L.A., for 'Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.' On Saturday, newly L.A. based writer and native Angeleno Jeff Gordinier also took home the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award for 'The City that Rice Built,' a long-form piece featuring Charleston, South Carolina in Food & Wine. While Yao's restaurant is already a popular destination among wealthier, in-the-know local diners and tasting menu fans from far and wide, it's been a surprisingly easy reservation to book most days of the week, at least until now. If you haven't yet booked a table at Kato, now might be a good time to do that—before everyone else does.
Time Out
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
These are all of L.A.'s 2025 James Beard Awards finalists
The votes for 2025 are in: Six L.A. chefs, restaurants, bars, bakeries and writers have been named James Beard Awards finalists. Known widely as the 'Oscars of food,' the awarding body recognizes chefs, restauranteurs, bar directors, authors and journalists across the nation. While the restaurant and chef awards were first announced on April 2, the media awards weren't announced until today. Whittled down from 16 semifinalists, just three L.A. County chefs, restaurants and bakeries have advanced to the final round: Kato 's Jon Yao in 'Best Chef: California' category; Redbird 's Tobin Shea in 'Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service'; and Gusto Bread in Long Beach—which I consider one of the city's best bakeries, and totally worth the drive—for 'Outstanding Bakery.' In the media category, three local journalists from the Los Angeles Times have picked up nominations. Critic Bill Addison received a nomination in 'Dining and Travel' for his guide to San Francisco and columnist Jenn Harris was also recognized for her work in the 'Craig Claiborne Distinguished Criticism' category. In 'Home Cooking,' senior editor Danielle Dorsey received a nomination for her recipe and reporting package on Black Thanksgiving traditions. Within Southern California, a few of our neighbors in Orange County also picked up nominations: Anaheim tiki bar Strong Water (Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program) and Daniel Castillo of San Juan Capistrano's Heritage Barbecue (Best Chef: California). The James Beard Foundation's annual awards 'recognize exceptional talent in the culinary and food media industries.' For 2025, the 35th edition, the foundation has added three new bar-focused categories. Last year, Lord Maynard Llera of Kuya Lord won 'Best Chef: California'
CBS News
04-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
5 SoCal chefs, service professional and restaurants make 2025 James Beard Awards finalists
The 2025 James Beard restaurant and chef award nominees were announced this week, and a handful of the best in the nation are in Los Angeles and Orange County. Often referred to as "the Oscars of food," the winners will be revealed at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on June 16 in Chicago. Long Beach's Gusto Bread was nominated in the Outstanding Bakery category, meeting the high mark of "a baker of breads, pastries, or desserts that demonstrates consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, hospitality, and operations." In the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, Strong Water in Anaheim made the nominated list of five, demonstrating "exceptional care and skill in the pairing of wine and other beverages with food," among other attributes. Best Chef: California nominations included Jon Yao, of Kato Los Angeles and Daniel Castillo of Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano. Tobin Shea, at Redbird Los Angeles, was one of five people nominated for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. Established in 1990, with the first awards given in 1991, the James Beard Awards are one of the most prestigious culinary honors in the nation. "On behalf of the Awards committee and the Restaurant and Chef Awards and Beverage Awards subcommittees, congratulations to our 2025 honorees and nominees! We're especially excited to recognize the first nominees of our three new beverage-focused categories—highlighting the vital role these professionals play in the culinary and hospitality industries," said Chef Elizabeth Falkner.
