Latest news with #JamesBeardFoundationAwards
Time Out
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
These three Chicago restaurants took home James Beard Awards last night
Chicago has a storied history with the James Beard Foundation Awards, taking home a whopping 50 trophies since the culinary honors hosted its first ceremony back in 1991. And that connection triumphantly continued at the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, which were held at the Windy City's own Lyric Opera of Chicago—its home base through 2027—on Monday, June 16, where two top-rate local spots got their well-deserved dues. Chicago had 22 semifinalists up for awards in categories like Outstanding Restaurant, Outstanding Chef and Best New Restaurant, two of which ultimately took home a coveted medal. First-time nominee Kumiko —Julia Momose's elegant West Loop bar that pairs Japanese omakase with bespoke cocktails to sublime results—was rightfully crowned this year's Outstanding Bar, beating out worthy competitors like Scotch Lodge (Portland, OR), The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday (Philadelphia, PA), Water Witch (Salt Lake City, UT) and Wolf Tree (White River Junction, VT). And over in the Best Chef: Great Lakes category (which honors top toques in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio), Noah Sandoval of two-Michelin-starred Oriole in the Fulton River District, continuing a nice little streak for Chicago-area chefs. This is the fourth time in five years that a local chef has won in the category, with Sandoval joining Kasama 's Tom Flores (2023) and Genie Kwon (2022) and Virtue 's Erick Williams (2021). What a group! Outside of the competitive categories, a longtime Chicago favorite also got some James Beard love this year: Lem's Bar-B-Q, the longstanding barbecue joint in Greater Grand Crossing, was the recipient of one of the foundation's 2025 America's Classics Award, which recognizes 'locally owned restaurants with timeless appeal that serve quality food and are beloved by their communities.' Lem's was joined by fellow iconic eateries including the Pioneer Saloon in Ketchum, ID; Sullivan's Castle Island in Boston, MA; Lucky Wishbone in Anchorage, AK; Dooky Chase in New Orleans, LA; and Gaido's in Galveston, TX.
Eater
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
Dallas Is Shut Out at the James Beard Awards, Except For Cafe Momentum's Chad Houser
On June 16, the 'Oscars of food,' as the James Beard Foundation Awards are colloquially known, went down, and Dallas had one honoree break the city's losing streak of 31 years. Chad Houser, the founder and CEO of Cafe Momentum, accepted the Humanitarian of the Year Award for his work with children and teens who the justice system has impacted. Cafe Momentum will receive $20,000 to continue its work from the Michael Phillips Humanitarian Fund. While introducing him, Andrew Zimmern, chef and host of Bizarre Foods , choked up and dropped an f-bomb. 'What this man does affects me and my family,' Zimmern said. 'It's a personal, personal thing and I'm a huge admirer of this human being and what he's done for so many, especially as a formerly incarcerated person.' Houser's first word after Zimmern put the James Beard medal over his head? 'Fuck.' In his speech, Houser listed his thanks, and said, 'I'm often asked if Cafe Momentum has to be a restaurant and I always say 'Yes.' Our industry is an integral part of every single community across the country. We provide a gathering space to celebrate, to breathe, and sometimes to have a conversation you didn't know you needed to have.' He went on to say that the Beards honor acknowledges that Cafe Momentum can change the outcomes of kids in the justice system 'one meal, one conversation at a time.' Houser turned out to be the only Dallas nominee to bring home an award — despite having the most finalists in the state of Texas, the city was locked out of any other wins. The 2025 James Beard Award finalists from Dallas were Mabo for Best New Restaurant, Bar Colette for Best New Bar, Regino Rojas of Purépecha as Best Chef: Texas, Starship Bagel for Outstanding Bakery, and RJ Yoakum in the Emerging Chef category. On the day of the awards, it was announced that Georgie parted ways with Emerging Chef nominee RJ Yoakum. Each year, the James Beard Foundation recognizes restaurants, bars, and hospitality professionals in categories such as Outstanding Restaurant, Best Chef, and Best New Chef. The first James Beard Awards ceremony was held in 1991, when chefs such as Rick Bayless, Nancy Silverton, and Wolfgang Puck emerged as winners. In recent years, the awards have been under increased scrutiny following the cancellation of its programming in 2020 and 2021 due to allegations of misbehavior and abuse against nominated chefs, as well as a lack of nominated and winning Black chefs in the categories. In response, the James Beard Foundation conducted an internal audit to make its voting processes more inclusive and equitable, with plans to return in 2022. In recent years, the awards have shifted the Best Chef category to a regional model to better recognize the diversity and depth of talent. Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Foundation Awards. See More:
Time Out
3 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.
Eater
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
Here Is Austin, Texas's 2025 James Beard Award Winner
The James Beard Foundation Awards were held tonight, June 16, and Austin, Texas walked away with one big winner. Arjav Ezekiel, beverage director and co-owner of Birdie's in East Austin, won the Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service award. Ezekiel was born in New Delhi, India, and moved with his family to Portland, Oregon when he was 12 years old, where he gained foundational hospitality knowledge from his father, who worked in hotels. After stints working at restaurants in Washington, D.C., and New York, he eventually relocated to Austin and opened Birdie's with his wife and business partner Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, who serves as Birdie's chef and co-owner. The wine program at Birdie's has been recognized in national food publications, including on Eater Austin, when Birdie's won an Eater Award for Best New Neighborhood Wine Bar in 2021. In January 2025, the James Beard Foundation recognized six Austin chefs and restaurants on its semifinalists list, while San Antonio earned seven nods, largely in the Best Chef: Texas category. On April 2, the foundation revealed its finalists: In the Best Chef: Texas category, Emil Oliva of San Antonio's Leche de Tigre and Michael Anthony Serva of Marfa, Texas's Bordo each received nods; the award ended up going to Thomas Bille of Belly of the Beast in Spring, Texas. Other finalists included Mixtli in San Antonio in the Outstanding Hospitality category; Atomix, a restaurant in New York City, took home that honor. The James Beard Awards, often considered 'the Oscars of food,' are among the most prestigious awards in the food and hospitality industry. Each year, the James Beard Foundation restaurants, bars, and hospitality professionals in categories like Outstanding Restaurant, Best Chef, and Best New Chef. This year's awards added three brand-new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. The first James Beard Awards ceremony was held in 1991, when chefs like Rick Bayless, Nancy Silverton, and Wolfgang Puck walked away as winners. In recent years, the foundation has been under increased scrutiny after canceling its programming in 2020 and 2021 due to misbehavior and abuse allegations against nominated chefs, and a lack of nominated and winning Black chefs among the categories. In response, the James Beard Foundation conducted an internal audit to make its voting processes more inclusive and equitable before returning in 2022. The awards have also shifted the Best Chef category to a regional model to better recognize the diversity and depth of talent. Here are the 2025 James Beard Foundation awards winners for Austin:Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service: Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin Get the full list of James Beard Award winners from across the country on Eater. Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2025. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation. See More:
Eater
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
Las Vegas Gets Shut Out of the 2025 James Beard Awards
On June 16, luminaries of the restaurant and bar world gathered at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago to celebrate the finalists and winners of the 2025 James Beard Foundation Awards. However, none of those winners represented the city of Las Vegas. Eater hosted the official livestream that showed Vegas-based finalists Cristie Norman of Delilah for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service; Sarah Thompson (Casa Playa); and Eleazar Villanueva (Restaurant de Joël Robuchon) for Best Chef: Southwest representing Las Vegas's prodigious and talented dining scene. Vegas did come away with a victory of sorts. Though no longer based in Las Vegas, the founders of Portland, Oregon's JinJu Patisserie Kyurim 'Q' Lee and Jin Caldwell won the national award for Outstanding Bakery. They worked extensively in Las Vegas, including Aria, Wynn, Bellagio, and Joel Robuchon, prior to opening their now award-winning bakery in Portland. The James Beard Awards, often considered 'the Oscars of food,' are among the most prestigious awards in the food and hospitality industry. Each year, the James Beard Foundation gives awards in categories like Outstanding Restaurant, Best Chef, and Best New Chef. This year's awards introduce three brand-new categories into the mix: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. The first James Beard Awards ceremony was held in 1991, when chefs like Rick Bayless, Nancy Silverton, and Wolfgang Puck walked away as winners. In recent years, the foundation has been under increased scrutiny after canceling its programming in 2020 and 2021 due to misbehavior and abuse allegations against nominated chefs, and a lack of nominated and winning Black chefs among the categories. In response, the James Beard Foundation conducted an internal audit to make its voting processes more inclusive and equitable before returning in 2022. The awards have also shifted the Best Chef category to a regional model to better recognize the diversity and depth of talent. Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2025. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation. See More:
