Considered one of the biggest honors in the restaurant industry, the list of chef and restaurant finalists for the James Beard Awards is announced by The James Beard Foundation.

Finalists for the three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service, included in the announcement as well as the nominees for Outstanding Restaurateur, Best New Restaurant, and the regional Best Chef awards. Winners of the foundation’s Leadership, Humanitarian of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement awards is also included in the announcement. Chad Houser was granted the Humanitarian of the Year Award, author and journalist Toni Tipton-Martin was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Including Anthony Edwards, Jr., Angie Craig, and Dune Lankard there were five honorees of the Impact Award. The organization announced an audit of procedures, and has, in recent years, amended existing categories or created newer ones, changed Rising Star award to Emerging Chef with no age cutoff. And recognized age and geographic diversity, designating separate regional awards for Texas, California, and New York, so reached a broader group of winners. Media awards nominees, covering books and food journalism, will be revealed on May 7. The final winners in the restaurant and chef Awards categories will be celebrated on Monday, June 16, during a gala ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Check out the full list of finalists below.

2025 James Beard Awards: Restaurant and Chef Finalists

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, 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.
• Alison Gibson and Cara Tobin, Honey Road and Gray Jay, Burlington, VT
• Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, Frenchette, Le Veau d’ Or, and Le Rock, New York, NY

Outstanding Chef

• Lisa Becklund, FarmBar, Tulsa, OK
• Gabriel Kreuther, Gabriel Kreuther, New York, NY
• Josh Niernberg, Bin 707 Foodbar, Grand Junction, CO
• Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, MA
• Jungsik Yim, Jungsik, New York, NY

Outstanding Restaurant

• Coquine, Portland, OR
• Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO
• Galit, Chicago, IL
• Nonesuch, Oklahoma City, OK
• Oberlin, Providence, RI

Emerging Chef

• Kaitlin Guerin, Lagniappe Bakehouse, New Orleans, LA
• Phila Lorn, Mawn, Philadelphia, PA
• Nikhil Naiker, NIMKI, Providence, RI
• Jane Sacro Chatham, Vicia, St. Louis, MO
• RJ Yoakum, Georgie, Dallas, TX

Best New Restaurant

• Alma Fonda Fina, Denver, CO
• Atoma, Seattle, WA
• 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

Outstanding Bakery

• Atelier Ortega, Jackson Hole, WY
• Gusto Bread, Long Beach, CA
• JinJu Patisserie, Portland, OR
• Starship Bagel, Lewisville, TX
• Super Secret Ice Cream, Bethlehem, NH

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

• Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit, Washington, D.C.
• 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

Outstanding Hospitality

• Archipelago, Seattle, WA
• Aria, Atlanta, GA
• Atomix, New York, NY
• Harbor House Inn, Elk, CA
• Mixtli, San Antonio, TX

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, 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

Best New Bar

• Agency, Milwaukee, WI
• Bar Colette, Dallas, TX
• Identidad Cocktail Bar, San Juan, PR
• Merai, Brookline, MA
• Vice Versa, Miami, FL

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service

• Jacob Brown, Lazy Bear, San Francisco, CA
• Jose Medina Camacho, Adios, Birmingham, AL
• Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie’s, Austin, TX
• Cassandra Felix, Daniel, New York, NY
• Cristie Norman, Delilah, Las Vegas, NV

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service

• McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright, Yacht Club, Denver, CO
• Ignacio Jimenez, Superbueno, New York, NY
• Dave Newman, Pint + Jigger, Honolulu, HI
• Tobin Shea, Redbird, Los Angeles, CA
• Mike Stankovich, Longfellow, Cincinnati, OH

Best Chefs (by region)

Best Chef: California

• Daniel Castillo, Heritage Barbeque, San Juan Capistrano, CA
• Richard Lee, Saison, San Francisco, CA
• Tara Monsod, ANIMAE, San Diego, CA
• Kosuke Tada, Mijote, San Francisco, CA
• Jon Yao, Kato, Los Angeles, CA

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

• 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
• Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago, IL

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

• Henji Cheung, Queen’s English, Washington, D.C.
• 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

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

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

Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)

• Joshua Adams, Campione, Livingston, MT
• 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

Best Chef: New York State

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

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

• Avery Buck, May Day, Burlington, VT
• 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

Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)

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

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)

• 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

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

• Noam Bilitzer, MeeshMeesh Mediterranean, Louisville, KY
• Sara Bradley, Freight House, Paducah, KY
• Jake Howell, Peninsula, Nashville, TN
• Silver Iocovozzi, Neng Jr.’s, Asheville, NC
• Robbie Robinson, City Limits Barbeque, West Columbia, SC

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)

• Olivier Bouzerand, Fait Maison, Edmond, OK
• 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, Oklahoma City, OK

Best Chef: Texas

• 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