San Diego Comes Up Empty at the 2025 James Beard Awards
Monsod, 41, started her career studying to be a nurse, but decided to go to culinary school at age 27. She worked at Tender Greens, Burlap, and eventually at San Diego's notable Juniper & Ivy. When she joined Animae in 2020, Monsod was promoted to lead the restaurant less than a year later, where she introduced her fine dining take on Asian dishes, including Filipino household staples like kare kare and dinuguan. In mid-2024, Monsod (along with Brian Malarkey and Christopher Puffer of the Puffer Malarkey Collective) debuted Le Coq, the contemporary French steakhouse in downtown La Jolla.
Often referred to as 'the Oscars of food,' the James Beard Awards are among the most prestigious awards in the food and hospitality industry. Each year, the James Beard Foundation recognizes restaurants, bars, and hospitality professionals in categories like Outstanding Restaurant, Best Chef, and Best New Chef. The James Beard Foundation announces the first round of semifinalists on April 2. San Diego received three semifinalist nominations, including Monsod, Roberto Alcocer of the Michelin-starred Valle in Oceanside for the same category, and Roma Norte for Best New Bar.
The first James Beard Awards ceremony was held in 1991, when chefs like Rick Bayless, Nancy Silverton, and Wolfgang Puck walked away as winners. In recent years, the foundation has been under increased scrutiny after canceling its programming in 2020 and 2021 due to misbehavior and abuse allegations against nominated chefs, and a lack of nominated and winning Black chefs among the categories. In response, the James Beard Foundation conducted an internal audit to make its voting processes more inclusive and equitable before returning in 2022. The awards have also shifted the Best Chef category to a regional model to better recognize the diversity and depth of talent.
Here is the full list of 2025 James Beard Award winners.
Chef Tara Monsod of Animae restaurant. Kimberly Motos
Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2025. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation.
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