Kato Chef Jon Yao Takes Home the James Beard Award for Best Chef: California
Jon Yao, of Los Angeles's Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant Kato, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: California at the 2025 ceremony held on June 16 in Chicago. This is his first James Beard win, and the only award Los Angeles brought home this year. Last year, Los Angeles also took home only one James Beard Award, with Kuya Lord chef Lord Maynard Llera winning for Best Chef: California.
Yao was named as a nominee for the Best Chef award on April 2, 2025 alongside Daniel Castillo (Heritage Barbecue), Richard Lee (Saison), Tara Monsod (Animae), and Kosuke Tada (Mijoté).
Yao first opened Kato in a tiny West LA strip mall in 2016, serving a menu that drew inspiration from his Taiwanese roots and upbringing in the San Gabriel Valley. In 2022, Yao moved the restaurant to the former M. Georgina space at Row DTLA in the Arts District. In the Arts District, Yao serves a constantly evolving, intricate 12-course tasting menu priced at $325; he told Eater in 2021 that his eyes were on Michelin recognition. Kato was awarded its first Michelin star in 2022 and has been recognized with numerous honors, including being named 'one to watch' by The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2024. Yao paid tribute to his Los Angeles roots in an interview on the James Beard livestream after winning. 'I'm super proud to be from Los Angeles and able to represent what we do,' he said.
Also nominated in the Los Angeles area this year were Gusto Bread for Outstanding Bakery, Strong Water for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, and Tobin Shea (Redbird) for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.
The James Beard Awards, often called the 'the Oscars of food,' 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. This year's awards bring three brand-new categories into the mix: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. On June 14, the James Beard Foundation hosted its media awards, which celebrated outstanding journalism, the best cookbooks of the year, and more. At the ceremony, Eater Midwest editor Ashok Selvam took home the Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award.
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.
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. See More:
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