Blog

The James Beard Awards are among the most coveted in the industry. | Photo courtesy of Eliesa Johnson.

The finalists for the 2025 James Beard Awards were announced in Los Angeles on Wednesday, narrowing the field for the award ceremony that will be held in Chicago on June 16.

Held at the Conrad Los Angeles, a property of Beard award sponsor Hilton Hotels, the event celebrated nominees across the country in the various categories, including three new ones this year: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

The foundation also named the honorees under a new program called the Impact Awards, which aims to recognize changemakers working toward a more equitable, sustainable and economically viable restaurant industry and food system. Those honorees will be celebrated at a special ceremony scheduled for June 15 in Chicago, and they will also be on stage at the glittering June 16 award show, which will be held at the Lyric Opera. 

(The media award winners will be announced on June 15, making the awards a three-day event in Chicago for some. Nominees for the media awards will be revealed May 7.)

A few of the announced restaurant nominees were in the room in Los Angeles, a crowd studded with mostly local restaurant celebrities, like the famed pastry chef Sherry Yard; restaurateur Mary Sue Milliken (who’s on the foundation’s board of trustees), and Kismet restaurant chefs and owners Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson. 

Nominees attending the reveal party were Tobin Shea, beverage director for Redbird in Los Angeles, who was nominated for the new Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service; as well as Ying Chang and Robert Adamson of Strong Water in Anaheim, California, which was nominated for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages. It’s Chang and Adamson’s second year being nominated for their tiki bar, with a lost-pirate-ship vibe and creative beverage program.

Nominees Ying Chang and Robert Adamson (left) of Strong Water; and Tobin Shea of Redbird were at the event. | Photo by Lisa Jennings

All three were thrilled to hear they made the final cut.

Los Angeles chef Elizabeth Falkner, who chaired the awards committee and was a presenter, said she was a nominee some years ago and, at the time, was told by known chefs that “just being nominated was big, and it would change your career.”

She didn’t win the award. 

“But they were still right. From that moment on, I became more focused on the journey and the education I had received from all the things I study and make, mostly food,” she said. “And the moral of the story is that being nominated is a huge deal. So if you hear your name today, please go out and celebrate your achievement.”

Here are the finalist nominees for the Beard awards, and the Impact Award honorees:

Outstanding Restaurateur:

• Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, Atomic Workshop (The Anchovy Bar, State Bird Provisions, and The Progress), San Francisco
• Sue Chin and Jason Chin, Good Salt Restaurant Group (Seito Sushi, Reyes Mezcaleria, The Osprey, and others), Orlando
• Scott Drewno and Danny Lee, The Fried Rice Collective (Anju, Chiko, and I Egg You), Washington, D.C. 
• Allison Gibson and Cara Tobin, Honey Road and Gray Jay, Burlington, Vermont
• Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, Frenchette, Le Veau d’Or, and Le Rock, New York

Outstanding Chef:

• Lisa Becklund, FarmBar, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Gabriel Kreuther, Gabriel Kreuther, New York City
• Josh Niernberg, Bin 707, Grand Junction, Colorado
• Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, Massachusetts
• Jungsik Yim, Jungsik, New York

Outstanding Restaurant:

• Coquine, Portland, Oregon
• Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colorado
• Galit, Chicago
• Nonesuch, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Oberlin, Providence, Rhode Island

Emerging Chef:

• Kaitlin Guerin, Lagniappe Bakehouse, New Orleans
• Phila Lorn, Mawn, Philadelphia
• Nikhil Naiker, NIMKI, Providence, Rhode Island
• Jane Sacro Chatham, Vicia, St. Louis, Missouri
• RJ Yoakum, Georgie, Dallas

Best New Restaurant:

• Alma Fonda Fina, Denver
• Atoma, Seattle
• Bûcheron, Minneapolis
• Ema, Houston, Texas
• Fet-Fisk, Pittsburgh
• Mābo, Dallas
• Mita, Washington, D.C.
• Ômo by Jônt, Winter Park, Florida
• Penny, New York City
• The Union, Helena, Montana

Outstanding Bakery:

• Atelier Ortega, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
• Gusto Bread, Long Beach, California
• JinJu Patisserie, Portland, Oregon
• Starship Bagel, Dallas and Lewisville, Texas
• Super Secret Ice Cream, Bethlehem, New Hampshire

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker:

• Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit, Washington, D.C.
• Cat Cox, Country Bird Bakery, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• April Franqueza, The Dining Room at High Hampton, Cashiers, North Carolina
• Crystal Kass, Valentine, Phoenix
• Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos, Poulette Bakeshop, Parker, Colorado

Outstanding Hospitality:

• Archipelago, Seattle
• Aria, Atlanta
• Atomix, New York City
• Harbor House Inn, Elk, California
• Mixtli, San Antonio, Texas

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program:

• Bar Brava, Minneapolis, MN
• Campo at Los Poblanos, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM
• Charleston, Baltimore, MD
• MARCH, Houston, TX
• Strong Water, Anaheim, CA

Outstanding Bar:

• Kumiko, Chicago
• Scotch Lodge, Portland, Oregon
• The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia
• Water Witch, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Wolf Tree, White River Junction, Vermont

Best New Bar:

• Agency, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Bar Colette, Dallas
• Identidad Cocktail Bar, San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Merai, Brookline, Massachusetts
• ViceVersa, Miami

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service:

• Jacob Brown, Lazy Bear, San Francisco
• Jose Medina Camacho, Adiõs, Birmingham, Alabama
• Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie’s, Austin, Texas
• Cassandra Felix, Daniel, New York City
• Cristie Norman, Delilah, Las Vegas

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service:

• McLean Hedges and Mary Allison Wright, Yacht Club, Denver
• Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez, Superbueno, New York City
• Dave Newman, Pint + Jigger, Honolulu
• Tobin Shea, Redbird, Los Angeles
• Mike Stankovich, Longfellow, Cincinnati

Best Chef: California:

• Daniel Castillo, Heritage Barbecue, San Juan Capistrano, California
• Richard Lee, Saison, San Francisco
• Tara Monsod, ANIMAE, San Diego
• Kosuke Tada, Mijoté, San Francisco
• Jon Yao, Kato, Los Angeles

Best Chef: Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio):

• Jennifer Blakeslee and Eric Patterson, The Cooks’ House, Traverse City, Michigan
• Thai Dang, HaiSous, Chicago
• David Jackman, Wildweed, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower, Maxwells Trading, Chicago
• Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia):

• Henji Cheung, Queen’s English, Washington, D.C.
• Carlos Delgado, Causa and Amazonia, Washington, D.C.
• Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi & Izakaya, Philadelphia
• Dan Richer, Razza, Jersey City, New Jersey
• Amanda Shulman, Her Place Supper Club, Philadelphia

Best Chef: Midwest (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin):

• Shigeyuki Furukawa, Kado no Mise, Minneapolis
• Diane Moua, Diane’s Place, Minneapolis
• Loryn Nalic, Balkan Treat Box, Webster Groves, Missouri
• Karyn Tomlinson, Myriel, St. Paul
• David Utterback, Ota and Yoshitomo, Omaha, Nebraska

Best Chef: Mountain (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah):

• Joshua Adams, Campione, Livingston, Montana
• Salvador Alamilla, Amano, Caldwell, Idaho
• Brandon Cunningham, The Social Haus, Greenough, Montana
• David Wells, The Tasting Room at Chico Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa, Pray, Montana
• Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton, Denver

Best Chef: New York State:

• Nasim Alikhani, Sofreh, Brooklyn, New York
• Ryan Fernandez, Southern Junction Barbecue, Buffalo, New York
• Eiji Ichimura, Sushi Ichimura, New York City
• Atsushi Kono, Kono, New York City
• Vijay Kumar, Semma, New York City

Best Chef: Northeast (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont):

• Avery Buck, May Day, Burlington, Vermont
• Sky Haneul Kim, Gift Horse, Providence, Rhode Island
• Brian Lewis, The Cottage, Westport, Connecticut
• Erin Miller, Urban Hearth, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Derek Wagner, Nicks on Broadway, Providence, Rhode Island

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington state):

• Jay Blackinton, Houlme, Orcas Island, Washington
• Joshua Dorcak, MÄS, Ashland, Oregon
• Ryan Roadhouse, Nodoguro, Portland, Oregon
• Beau Schooler, In Bocca Al Lupo, Juneau, Alaska
• Timothy Wastell, Antica Terra, Amity, Oregon

Best Chef: South (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico):

• Nando Chang, Itamae AO, Miami
• Matthew Cooper, Conifer, Bentonville, Arkansas
• Kevin Garcia, La Faena AgroCocina, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
• Angel David Moreno Zayas, El Gallo Pinto, Guayama, Puerto Rico
• Rafael Rios, Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico, Bentonville, Arkansas

Best Chef: Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma):

• Olivier Bouzerand, Fait Maison, Edmond, Oklahoma
• Yotaka Martin, Lom Wong, Phoenix
• Sarah Thompson, Casa Playa, Las Vegas
• Eleazar Villanueva, Restaurant de Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas
• Zack Walters, Sedalia’s Oyster & Seafood, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Best Chef: Texas:

• Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast, Spring, Texas
• Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó, Houston, Texas
• Emil Oliva, Leche de Tigre, San Antonio, Texas
• Regino Rojas, Purépecha, Dallas
• Michael Anthony Serva, Bordo, Marfa, Texas

Impact Award Honorees:

• U.S. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota for her sponsorship of legislation to benefit U.S. farmers and strengthen the agriculture and food supply chains.
• Brandon Edwin Chrostowski, CEO of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, based in Cleveland, Ohio, which works with formerly incarcerated men and women to offer second chances to rebuild their lives.
• Anthony Edwards Jr., CEO and co-founder of EatOkra, a platform for Black-owned restaurants, caterers and food trucks.
• Seanicaa Edwards Herron, founder and executive director of the Freedmen Heirs Foundation, a nonprofit that supports Black farmers.
• Dune Lankard, president and founder of the Native Conservancy, who has helped preserve acres of wild salmon habitat along the Gulf of Alaska coastline and is raising ocean kelp.

Lifetime Achievement Award:

• Toni Tipton-Martin, author, culinary journalist and activist, and editor-in-chief of Cook’s Country Magazine.

Humanitarian of the Year:

• Chad Houser, founder of Café Momentum in Dallas, a restaurant and culinary training facility to equip teens ages 15 to 19 with life skills. Café Momentum has expanded to Atlanta and Pittsburgh, with a fourth location scheduled to open next year in Denver.

   

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.