Chefs and restaurants were honored on Monday night with James Beard Awards, one of the US culinary community’s highest accolades.
Bûcheron, a French American restaurant in Minneapolis, was named best new restaurant during the awards ceremony, which was held at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.
The outstanding chef award went to Jungsik Yim, whose New York City restaurant Jungsik also holds three Michelin stars for Yim’s “New Korean” cuisine.
Another top honor, for outstanding restaurant, was awarded to Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado. The cuisine focuses on the flavors of the northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia through the lens of Colorado.
In addition to various restaurant and beverage categories, the awards also honor the best chefs in regions across the United States.
Many of the evening’s honorees highlighted the role of immigrants in American culinary culture. That message was underlined at the start of the ceremony by James Beard Foundation CEO Clare Reichenbach.
“America’s food scene has never been more dynamic, more diverse and exciting, and in large part we owe that dynamism, that vibrancy, to the immigrant communities that lead and underpin this industry in every way,” said Reichenbach. “We get to taste the world because of them.”
Chef Nando Chang, of Itamae AO in Miami, won the best chef award for the South.
“As bittersweet as this moment is for many immigrants in America, I want to say I could not be prouder or feel stronger to be a part of this beautiful country,” said Chang, a Peruvian American of Chinese descent who said he came to the US in 2001.
This year’s slate of awards featured three new categories in the beverage realm: best new bar and awards for outstanding professionals in beverage service and cocktail service. The new categories are part of an expansion over the next few years aimed at “acknowledging the beverage industry in a more holistic way,” according to the James Beard Foundation.
Identidad Cocktail Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, earned the inaugural best new bar award. Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie’s in Austin, Texas, won the outstanding professional in beverage service award, and Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez, of Superbueno in New York City, won outstanding professional in cocktail service.
The 2025 awards come five years after the 2020 ceremony was abruptly canceled amid the Covid-19 pandemic’s upending of the restaurant industry as well as criticism of the awards’ lack of diversity and inclusion of chefs accused of abusive behavior.
Since then, the James Beard Foundation has made efforts to address that criticism with a new code of ethics and changes to awards program policies and procedures.
The nonprofit James Beard Foundation was established in 1986, shortly after chef and TV personality James Beard’s death. The first awards ceremony was held in 1991.
Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, Atomic Workshop (The Anchovy Bar, State Bird Provisions, and The Progress), San Francisco, CA
Sue Chin and Jason Chin, Good Salt Restaurant Group (Seito Sushi, Reyes Mezcaleria, The Osprey, and others), Orlando, FL
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, VT
WINNER: Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, Frenchette, Le Veau d’Or, and Le Rock, New York, NY
Lisa Becklund, FarmBar, Tulsa, OK
Gabriel Kreuther, Gabriel Kreuther, New York, NY
Josh Niernberg, Bin 707, Grand Junction, CO
Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, MA
WINNER: Jungsik Yim, Jungsik, New York, NY
Coquine, Portland, OR
WINNER:Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO
Galit, Chicago, IL
Nonesuch, Oklahoma City, OK
Oberlin, Providence, RI
Kaitlin Guerin, Lagniappe Bakehouse, New Orleans, LA
WINNER: Phila Lorn, Mawn, Philadelphia, PA
Nikhil Naiker, NIMKI, Providence, RI
Jane Sacro Chatham, Vicia, St. Louis, MO
RJ Yoakum, Georgie, Dallas, TX
Alma Fonda Fina, Denver, CO
Atoma, Seattle, WA
WINNER: Bûcheron, Minneapolis, MN
Ema, Houston, TX
Fet-Fisk, Pittsburgh, PA
Mābo, Dallas, TX
Mita, Washington, D.C.
Ômo by Jônt, Winter Park, FL
Penny, New York, NY
The Union, Helena, MT
Atelier Ortega, Jackson Hole, WY
Gusto Bread, Long Beach, CA
WINNER: JinJu Patisserie, Portland, OR
Starship Bagel, Dallas and Lewisville, TX
Super Secret Ice Cream, Bethlehem, NH
Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit, Washington, D.C.
WINNER: Cat Cox, Country Bird Bakery, Tulsa, OK
April Franqueza, The Dining Room at High Hampton, Cashiers, NC
Crystal Kass, Valentine, Phoenix, AZ
Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos, Poulette Bakeshop, Parker, CO
Archipelago, Seattle, WA
Aria, Atlanta, GA
WINNER: Atomix, New York, NY
Harbor House Inn, Elk, CA
Mixtli, San Antonio, TX
Bar Brava, Minneapolis, MN
Campo at Los Poblanos, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM
WINNER: Charleston, Baltimore, MD
MARCH, Houston, TX
Strong Water, Anaheim, CA
WINNER: Kumiko, Chicago, IL
Scotch Lodge, Portland, OR
The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia, PA
Water Witch, Salt Lake City, UT
Wolf Tree, White River Junction, VT
Agency, Milwaukee, WI
Bar Colette, Dallas, TX
WINNER: Identidad Cocktail Bar, San Juan, PR
Merai, Brookline, MA
ViceVersa, Miami, FL
Jacob Brown, Lazy Bear, San Francisco, CA
Jose Medina Camacho, Adiõs, Birmingham, AL
WINNER: Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie’s, Austin, TX
Cassandra Felix, Daniel, New York, NY
Cristie Norman, Delilah, Las Vegas, NV
McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright, Yacht Club, Denver, CO
WINNER: Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez, Superbueno, New York, NY
Dave Newman, Pint + Jigger, Honolulu, HI
Tobin Shea, Redbird, Los Angeles, CA
Mike Stankovich, Longfellow, Cincinnati, OH
Daniel Castillo, Heritage Barbecue, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Richard Lee, Saison, San Francisco, CA
Tara Monsod, ANIMAE, San Diego, CA
Kosuke Tada, Mijoté, San Francisco, CA
WINNER: Jon Yao, Kato, Los Angeles, CA
Jennifer Blakeslee and Eric Patterson, The Cooks’ House, Traverse City, MI
Thai Dang, HaiSous, Chicago, IL
David Jackman, Wildweed, Cincinnati, OH
Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower, Maxwells Trading, Chicago, IL
WINNER: Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago, IL
Henji Cheung, Queen’s English, Washington, D.C.
WINNER: Carlos Delgado, Causa and Amazonia, Washington, D.C.
Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi & Izakaya, Philadelphia, PA
Dan Richer, Razza, Jersey City, NJ
Amanda Shulman, Her Place Supper Club, Philadelphia, PA
Shigeyuki Furukawa, Kado no Mise, Minneapolis, MN
Diane Moua, Diane’s Place, Minneapolis, MN
Loryn Nalic, Balkan Treat Box, Webster Groves, MO
WINNER: Karyn Tomlinson, Myriel, St. Paul, MN
David Utterback, Ota and Yoshitomo, Omaha, NE
Joshua Adams, Campione, Livingston, MT
WINNER: Salvador Alamilla, Amano, Caldwell, ID
Brandon Cunningham, The Social Haus, Greenough, MT
David Wells, The Tasting Room at Chico Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa, Pray, MT
Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton, Denver, CO
Nasim Alikhani, Sofreh, Brooklyn, NY
Ryan Fernandez, Southern Junction Barbecue, Buffalo, NY
Eiji Ichimura, Sushi Ichimura, New York, NY
Atsushi Kono, Kono, New York, NY
WINNER: Vijay Kumar, Semma, New York, NY
Avery Buck, May Day, Burlington, VT
WINNER: Sky Haneul Kim, Gift Horse, Providence, RI
Brian Lewis, The Cottage, Westport, CT
Erin Miller, Urban Hearth, Cambridge, MA
Derek Wagner, Nicks on Broadway, Providence, RI
Jay Blackinton, Houlme, Orcas Island, WA
Joshua Dorcak, MÄS, Ashland, OR
Ryan Roadhouse, Nodoguro, Portland, OR
Beau Schooler, In Bocca Al Lupo, Juneau, AK
WINNER: Timothy Wastell, Antica Terra, Amity, OR
WINNER: Nando Chang, Itamae AO, Miami, FL
Matthew Cooper, Conifer, Bentonville, AR
Kevin Garcia, La Faena AgroCocina, Guaynabo, PR
Angel David Moreno Zayas, El Gallo Pinto, Guayama, PR
Rafael Rios, Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico, Bentonville, AR
Noam Bilitzer, MeeshMeesh Mediterranean, Louisville, KY
Sara Bradley, freight house, Paducah, KY
WINNER: Jake Howell, Peninsula, Nashville, TN
Silver Iocovozzi, Neng Jr.’s, Asheville, NC
Robbie Robinson, City Limits Barbeque, West Columbia, SC
Olivier Bouzerand, Fait Maison, Edmond, OK
WINNER: Yotaka Martin, Lom Wong, Phoenix, AZ
Sarah Thompson, Casa Playa, Las Vegas, NV
Eleazar Villanueva, Restaurant de Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas, NV
Zack Walters, Sedalia’s Oyster & Seafood, Oklahoma City, OK
WINNER: Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast, Spring, TX
Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó, Houston, TX
Emil Oliva, Leche de Tigre, San Antonio, TX
Regino Rojas, Purépecha, Dallas, TX
Michael Anthony Serva, Bordo, Marfa, TX