Back in Chicago for the 2025 James Beard Awards

There’s nothing quite like the electricity of Awards weekend, and being back in Chicago for this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards was exhilarating. The culinary industry continues to shine brighter every year, and 2025 was no exception.

A huge congratulations to Carlos Delgado, named Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for his incredible work at Causa and Amazonia in Washington, D.C. We’re also raising a glass to Cindy Wolf and her team at Charleston in Baltimore for taking home the award for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. Cheers to both for bringing honors home to the region.

Of course, we’d be lying if we didn’t say we were a little heartbroken that some of our incredibly deserving local finalists — Scott Drewno & Danny Lee of The Fried Rice Collective, Miguel Guerra & Tatiana Mora of Mita, and Susan Bae of Moon Rabbit — didn’t return with medals this year. But our fingers are already crossed for 2026.

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2025 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards

Outstanding Restaurateur
Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, Frenchette, Le Veau d'Or, and Le Rock, New York, NY

Outstanding Chef 
Jungsik Yim, Jungsik, New York, NY

Outstanding Restaurant
Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO

Emerging Chef 
Phila Lorn, Mawn, Philadelphia, PA
Best New Restaurant
Bûcheron, Minneapolis, MN

Outstanding Bakery
JinJu Patisserie, Portland, OR

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Cat Cox, Country Bird Bakery, Tulsa, OK

Outstanding Hospitality presented by American Airlines
Atomix, New York, NY

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Charleston, Baltimore, MD

Outstanding Bar
Kumiko, Chicago, IL

Best New Bar
Identidad Cocktail Bar, San Juan, PR

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie's, Austin, TX

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
Ignacio "Nacho" Jimenez, Superbueno, New York, NY

Best Chefs: 

Best Chef: California
Jon Yao, Kato, Los Angeles, CA

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago, IL

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
Carlos Delgado, Causa and Amazonia, Washington, D.C.

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
Karyn Tomlinson, Myriel, St. Paul, MN

Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
Salvador Alamilla, Amano, Caldwell, ID

Best Chef: New York State
Vijay Kumar, Semma, New York, NY

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
Sky Haneul Kim, Gift Horse, Providence, RI

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
Timothy Wastell, Antica Terra, Amity, OR

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
Nando Chang, Itamae AO, Miami, FL

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
Jake Howell, Peninsula, Nashville, TN

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)
Yotaka Martin, Lom Wong, Phoenix, AZ

Best Chef: Texas
Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast, Spring, TX