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On a sunny, blustery day, chefs and restaurateurs more accustomed to aprons and bar mops than sequins and silks bedecked themselves in the latter (and in regional chef winners Christina Nguyen and Gregory Gourdet’s cases, feathers). They lined up on the red carpet outside the Chicago Lyric Opera in front of flashing bulbs for the 2024 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards. As I flung myself into conversations with nominees prior to the event, I was told repeatedly that it was about the platform rather than the award. There was also an overwhelming sense of cultural pride amongst the nominees, each of them telling me about the culture and city they felt they were representing.
The awards sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna almost bookended the ceremony, opening with Emerging Chef, which went to Masako Morishita of Perry’s in Washington DC and Outstanding Restaurant, the penultimate award, which went to Langbaan of Portland, Oregon.
“This is my wildest American dream,” Morishita said from the stage as she accepted the first award of the night. The camera panned to her husband Brad, who wept with joy. “I’m from Japan, I cook Japanese food. But I cook Japanese comfort food, which is overshadowed by sushi and ramen. This is the cuisine that Japanese moms have been cooking with love for their families for generations. I hope I’m making Japanese moms proud.” Morishita added some advice to other immigrants: “If you have a dream, if you have a goal, take one step forward because we got this.”
Emerging Chef winner Masako Morishita
I spoke with a glowing Morishita in the press room, and she clearly shouldered the experiences of the generations of women who taught her how to cook. I asked her what her favorite thing to cook in the restaurant was and she said without hesitation, “Dumplings—the garlic and pork dumplings my mother taught me to make.”
Morishita’s sentiments were echoed by the second winner of the night, Atsuko Fujimoto of Portland, Maine’s Norimoto Bakery, as she accepted the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef and earnestly thanked her family. She also told the audience to raucous laughter, “I want to thank my mom for wearing this kimono tonight. It’s so uncomfortable. But so worth it.”
“It’s Portland’s year,” whispered writers in the press room, as ZU Bakery of Portland, Maine won Outstanding Bakery. It was also Washington DC’s year, as Michael Rafidi picked up the final award of the night, that of Outstanding Chef.
The James Beard Awards 2024 was held at Chicago Lyric Opera
I cheered when Jewel of the South of New Orleans won Outstanding Bar and told everyone within earshot that my visit there in the thick of an August heatwave quite possibly saved my life, as I was brought back from the brink of heatstroke with their excellent cocktails.
It is particularly exciting when a restaurant has multiple nominees within the organization. “Being nominated along with other chefs and organizations that I look to for inspiration and advice is beyond words. I am so happy to be able to represent the AAPI community and Vietnamese cuisine and hope to become an inspiration to others in the industry,” Kevin Tien of Moon Rabbit told me, of his nomination for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. Susan Bae, also of Moon Rabbit, a nominee for Outstanding Pastry Chef, interpreted her nomination similarly, “To be able to represent the AAPI community and Korean Americans, it's a moment of pride and recognition— affirming our contribution in flavours and tradition in American cuisine.”
When Christina Nguyen accepted her award for Best Chef: South, she thanked the James Beard Foundation for “recognizing the value of Vietnamese food. The best we could hope for before was cheap eats. I feel like we’ve come a long way.”
Best Chef: South, Christina Nguyen
Arvinder Vilkhu, Best Chef: South nominee for Saffron in NOLA told me, "It feels amazing to be nominated. Nominations such as this put Saffron on the map, and New Orleans more broadly. The city prospers and Saffron along with it."
It was Jesse Ito’s seventh time nominated. Not wanting to jinx himself for the title of Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic he took a deep breath, grinned, and told me as I caught him coming off the red carpet, “I’m excited to be representing Philly. I’m hoping to bring it home.”
It was a night of many Asian-American nominees and winners (and one that skewed Japanese-Americans), but also a chance to highlight issues that continue to plague the restaurant industry and the world.
Gregory Gourdet gave the most moving speech as he accepted his award for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific, saying how once he was “deep in a drug and alcohol addiction,” but working with the ingredients (the salmon, the berries) of the Pacific Northwest, alongside hundreds of cooks, was beneficial for him as he created a “hub for Haitian culture and Haitian storytelling in the most random of places, the Pacific Northwest.” He ended by saying, “Food is a basic human right and should never be used as a tool of war.”
Best Chef: Southeast, Paul Smith
It was an emotional night, and host Amanda Freitag quipped, “I’ve never seen so many chefs cry outside of the walk-in.” Indeed, it was moving to see people who aren’t frequently recognized seen on such a grand stage. Before the ceremony, Jason Hammel, chef and owner of Lula Café, where I had enjoyed a nourishing but decadent pre-Awards brunch, told me: “This Outstanding Hospitality nomination is incredibly special to me because it's a testament to our entire team at Lula Cafe. From our hosts, managers, bartenders and servers, to the cooks, dishwashers, and farm partners, everyone working at the restaurant really cares about what they're doing, and shows that every day, whether it's during a 9am breakfast service or at the end of busy night.” Lula Café ended up winning the award in their hometown, and the cheers in the press room were deafening.
“West African food doesn’t have to be filtered through Creole to be delicious,” said Serigne Mbaye, the chef-owner of Dakar Nola, the winner of Best New Restaurant. He urged the audience, “Think about southern food without West African influence, what do you have?”
The night before the Restaurant Awards, at a party hosted by Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality, I fell into conversation with Kelly Whitaker of Id Est, a family of seven restaurants, nominee for Outstanding Restaurateur. “I’ve been nominated twice as a chef and we’re [he and his wife, Erika Whitaker] on the shortlist now as restaurateur.” he told me. “It’s different being on both sides, as a cook and then as a restaurant owner and founder. We hope for the win because of the platform it would bring. It’s an award for the future, for our work’s impact.” Whitaker’s approach to sustainability and regenerative grain farming on over 200 acres is central to this impact. “When I was cooking in LA, it was all about the water, replenishing the ocean. When I moved to Colorado in the early 1990s, it was like this was the ocean of the land.”
Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific, Gregory Gourdet
The Whitakers also ended up winning (it seems talking to me beforehand is good luck—most of the nominees I spoke to before the awards wound up winning).
“I feel more of a sense of a fight now than ever,” Whitaker said in his acceptance speech.
Langbaan which means “back of the house” in Thai, was opened 10 years ago with the mission to “open the world [of Thai food]” according to Executive Chef and owner Earl Ninsom, who accepted his award in clear shock. He encouraged the crowd to “not stop innovating” and to “continue to take care of each other, our guests, and our communities.”
See the full list of James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards 2024, below.
Outstanding Chef
Michael Rafidi, Albi, Washington, DC
Outstanding Restaurateur
Erika Whitaker and Kelly Whitaker, ID EST (The Wolf's Tailor, BRUT., Basta, and others), Boulder, CO
Outstanding Restaurant presented by Acqua PannaⓇ Natural Spring Water
Langbaan, Portland, OR
Emerging Chef presented by S.PellegrinoⓇ Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
Masako Morishita, Perry's, Washington DC
Best New Restaurant
Dakar NOLA, New Orleans, LA
Outstanding Bakery
ZU Bakery, Portland, ME
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery, Portland, ME
Outstanding Hospitality
Lula Cafe, Chicago, IL
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Lula Drake Wine Parlour, Columbia, SC
Outstanding Bar
Jewel of the South, New Orleans, LA
Best Chef: California
Lord Maynard Llera, Kuya Lord, Los Angeles, CA
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
Hajime Sato, Sozai, Clawson, MI
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
Harley Peet, Bas Rouge, Easton, MD
Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
Christina Nguyen, Hai Hai, Minneapolis, MN
Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
Matt Vawter, Rootstalk, Breckenridge, CO
Best Chef: New York State
Charlie Mitchell, Clover Hill, Brooklyn, NY
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
David Standridge, The Shipwright's Daughter, Mystic, CT
Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
Gregory Gourdet, Kann, Portland, OR
Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
Valerie Chang, Maty's, Miami, FL
Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
Paul Smith, 1010 Bridge, Charleston, WV
Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)
Rene Andrade, Bacanora, Phoenix, AZ
Best Chef: Texas
Ana Liz Pulido, Ana Liz Taqueria, Mission, TX
America’s Classics
- Mandalay, San Francisco, CA
- Vietnam Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA
- Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge, Brookings, SD
- Sylvia’s Restaurant, New York City, NY
- Wade’s Restaurant, Spartanburg, SC
- Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge, Las Vegas, NV
Leadership Awards
- Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, Founder/Owner, Down North Pizza and Down North Foundation, Philadelphia, PA
- Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director, North American Marine Alliance (NAMA) and Director, National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), Gloucester, MA
- Helga Garza, Executive Director, Agri-Cultura Network / La Cosecha, Albuquerque, NM
- Mai Nguyen, Farmer, Farmer Mai, Sonoma, CA
- Emerging Leadership: Christa Barfield, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, FarmerJawn, West Chester, PA
Lifetime Achievement Award
Ruth Reichl
Humanitarian of the Year
The LEE Initiative
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