Rammy Awards Apologizes for Mixing Up Photos of Two Asian American Chefs
The Rammy Awards' host, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), waited a full 24 hours after the awards were announced to comment on the situation. 'We sincerely apologize for making this unfortunate mistake and the harm that it has caused,' per a lengthy statement posted to its Instagram account on Monday night. 'What happened unfairly took away from what should have been a well-deserved moment of joy for Chef Alicia.'
The egregious snafu tied to one of the night's many categories was immediately noticed, discussed, and slammed by industry and media attendees during the event and into the following day. It remains unclear how the error was actually made and overlooked on not only one, but two, visible platforms.
Wang was present at the Rammys but did not take the stage when her name was announced. Her co-workers accepted the award on her behalf, awkwardly acknowledging the misplaced photo of Bae displayed behind them on the screen. Bae, the two-time James Beard Award finalist for the nation's Best Pastry Chef, was not in attendance because she was in New England for a previously scheduled dinner.
Neither nominee responded to Eater's request for comment regarding the incident, but Bae did allude to her frustration over the photo mix-up in a late-Sunday Instagram story, writing words like 'disappointed' and 'nonsense back in D.C.,' accompanied by a picture of a sugary fritter.
Korean American chef Danny Lee (Anju, Chiko) quickly stood up for the understandably embarrassed nominees in an Instagram story, reposting a selfie with Wang to congratulate her on the Rammy win.
Screenshot
Some responses on RAMW's prepared comments suggested its delayed damage control missed the mark. 'Why not also make this apology a carousel with the correct awardee and photo,' with the hashtags 'simple' and 'restorative,' wrote @tcresidential. Per @juuudyhong: 'publicly confusing Asians on an institutional level in 2025?? Embarrassing.' Another account, @dcpiffle, took a more productive approach, proposing RAMW make a donation in their name to an organization that benefits Asian American and Pacific Islanders culinary creatives, such as Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate.
RAMW, which hired a new public relations firm (Link Strategic Partners) to execute this year's Rammy Awards after working with a different one for some time, communicated its desire to make things right with Wang, Bae, and their respective teams. 'We are firmly committed to both an ongoing dialogue with them and a revision of process that will help ensure these mistakes do not occur again in the future,' reads the statement.
Popular D.C. blogger Washingtonian Problems reposted RAMW's apology to a sea of responses that included: 'What the damn hell? How can they make such a glaring mistake?'
It wasn't the only indelible dent in the event, however.
A D.C. restaurant publicist drew Eater's attention to the misspelling of her late client's name in the memoriam portion of the program. Luis Lezama, an ordained priest and founder of downtown's decades-old Spanish stalwart Taberna del Alabardero, died in January at age 88; his last name was incorrectly written in the pamphlet and on the screen as 'Lezam.'
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