All the Winners of the 2023 James Beard Chef & Restaurant Awards

Buzz
So excited to be at 2023 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, honoring excellence across the culinary industry, from fine dining to casual gems in our communities, while also supporting and encouraging a more sustainable industry. I was there at the Lyric Opera of Chicago watching Eric Adjepong, Esther Choi, Gail Simmons, and Andrew Zimmern, up on the stage taking us through an exciting evening of award announcements and inspired speeches from the winners. For those who are curious the voting process for all Restaurant and Chef Award categories can be found here, and the process and eligibility for each category can be found on the Awards’ policies and procedures page. 

And The Winners Are:

Outstanding Chef
  • Rob Rubba, Oyster Oyster, Washington, D.C.
Outstanding Restaurant
  • Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia, PA
Best New Restaurant
  • Kann, Portland, OR
Outstanding Restaurateur
  • Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a.kitchen + bar, High Street, and others), Philadelphia, PA
Emerging Chef
  • Damarr Brown, Virtue, Chicago, IL
Outstanding Bakery
  • Yoli Tortilleria, Kansas City, MO
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
  • Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles, CA
Outstanding Hospitality
  • The Quarry, Monson, ME
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
  • OTOTO, Los Angeles, CA
Outstanding Bar
  • Bar Leather Apron, Honolulu, HI
Best Chefs Presented

Best Chef: California
  • Justin Pichetrungsi, Anajak Thai, Sherman Oaks, CA
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
  • Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, Kasama, Chicago, IL
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
  • Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, Kalaya, Philadelphia, PA
Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
  • Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger, Fairchild, Madison, WI
Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
  • Kris Komori, KIN, Boise, ID
Best Chef: New York State
  • Junghyun Park, Atomix, New York, NY
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
  • Sherry Pocknett, Sly Fox Den Too, Charlestown, RI
Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
  • Vince Nguyen, Berlu, Portland, OR
Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
  • Natalia Vallejo, Cocina al Fondo, San Juan, PR
Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
  • Terry Koval, The Deer and the Dove, Decatur, GA
Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)
  • Andrew Black, Grey Sweater, Oklahoma City, OK
Best Chef: Texas
  • Benchawan Jabthong Painter, Street to Kitchen, Houston, TX
Humanitarian of the Year: Olivia Watkins and Karen Washington, co-founders of the Black Farmer Fund.

Lifetime Achievement: Madhur Jaffrey CBE, cookbook author, writer, teacher, and actress.

Restaurant and Chef America’s Classics Award Winners:  
  • Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop, Austin, Texas; Owner: Paula Avila
  • La Casita Blanca, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Owners: Jesús Pérez Ruiz (deceased), Mildred De León, Leonardo Pérez De León, Jesús Pérez De León
  • Manago Hotel, Captain Cook, Hawai‘i; Owners: Britney and Taryn Manago
  • Nezinscot Farm, Turner, Maine; Owner: Gloria and Gregg Varney
  • Pekin Noodle Parlor, Butte, Montana; Owner: Jerry Tam
  • Wagner’s Village Inn, Oldenburg, Indiana; Owner: Dan Saccomando
And incredible evening. Congratulations to the nominees and the winners. For more information about the James Beard Foundation Awards, visit jamesbeard.org/awards.