The 2025 James Beard Award Winners Have Been Announced

The James Beard Foundation has announced the winners of its 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards, celebrating the culinary professionals who are shaping the future of American dining.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the James Beard Awards, which have long served as one of the most prestigious honors in the food world—recognizing not just exceptional cooking, but the values of leadership, equity, and community impact.

The 2025 ceremony was co-hosted by chef, restaurateur, and Next Level Chef co-host Nyesha Arrington, alongside James Beard Award winner and TV personality Andrew Zimmern. They were joined onstage by a lineup of esteemed presenters, including Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Nina Compton, Dale DeGroff, Elizabeth Falkner, Suzanne Goin, Tahiirah Habibi, Alba Huerta, Stephanie Izard, Padma Lakshmi, Garrett Oliver, Serigne Mbaye, Danny Meyer, Michael Rafidi, Adam Richman, Marcus Samuelsson, Gail Simmons, Sean Sherman, Alpana Singh, Bobby Stuckey, Sherry Yard, and others.

Among this year’s top honors, Outstanding Restaurant Presented by Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water was awarded to Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, CO, while Emerging Chef Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water went to Phila Lorn from Mawn in Philadelphia, PA.

With new categories introduced to spotlight bar and beverage professionals, the Foundation continues to expand the definition of culinary excellence and honor those transforming hospitality, one dish (or drink) at a time.

Below, find the full list of 2025 winners.

Outstanding Chef Presented by Hilton

• Jungsik Yim, Jungsik, New York, NY

Outstanding Restaurant Presented by Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water

• Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO

Best New Restaurant

• Bûcheron, Minneapolis, MN

Emerging Chef Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water

• Phila Lorn, Mawn, Philadelphia, PA

Outstanding Restaurateur

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

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 Jimenez, Superbueno, New York, NY

Best Chefs presented by Capital One (by region)

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 & 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