The James Beard Foundation unveiled the winners of the 2025 James Beard Awards during a glamorous ceremony held at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. Known as the highest honor for chefs and restaurateurs in the United States, the event saw a gathering of notable personalities from the culinary world.
Frasca Food and Wine, located in Boulder, Colorado, was recognized as the Outstanding Restaurant. Meanwhile, Jungsik Yim from Jungsik in New York City captured the title of Outstanding Chef. Minneapolis’s Bûcheron was awarded Best New Restaurant. New York City had a remarkable night, with Atomix earning the Outstanding Hospitality award, while Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, known for their work at Frenchette, Le Veau d’Or, and Le Rock, took home the Outstanding Restaurateur award.
These Restaurant and Chef Awards followed the Media Awards hosted by Padma Lakshmi this past Saturday, which honored achievements in food media across cookbooks, journalism, and television. The ceremony for the 35th annual awards was co-hosted by Nyesha Harrington and Andrew Zimmern.
The winners announced tonight were chosen from a list of finalists revealed on April 2, complementing the previously announced recipients for the 2025 Beard Awards. Journalist and historian Toni Tipton-Martin received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Chad Houser, founder of Cafe Momentum, was honored as the Humanitarian of the Year. Five individuals were also acknowledged with the Impact Award. Several winners used their platforms to address current political issues, with three passionately declaring, “fuck ICE” in their speeches.
Here’s a complete list of the winners from the 2025 James Beard 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**: Atomix, New York, NY
– **Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program**: Charleston, Baltimore, MD
– **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
– **Outstanding Bar**: Kumiko, Chicago, IL
– **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
Additionally, the following establishments were recognized as 2025 James Beard America’s Classics:
– The Pioneer Saloon, Ketchum, ID
– Lucky Wishbone, Anchorage, AK
– Dooky Chase, New Orleans, LA
The Impact Award winners included:
– U.S. Representative Angie Craig
– Brandon Edwin Chrostowski, CEO of Edwins Leadership & Restaurant Institute
– Anthony Edwards, Jr., co-founder of EatOkra
– Seanicaa Edwards Herron, founder of the Freedmen Heirs Foundation
– Dune Lankard, president of Native Conservancy
It is noteworthy that some staff members from Vox Media are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater will collaborate with the James Beard Foundation to provide livestream coverage of the 2025 awards.