Are these the best new chefs in Miami? Magazine honors the rising stars of 2025
StarChefs, which highlights up-and-coming culinary talent and industry trends, has announced its 2025 Miami Rising Stars Award winners who are being recognized for their food and the ability to lead, inspire and support the community and the restaurant industry.
Managing partner Will Blunt said the winners — who are judged on creativity, ambition, presentation and philosophy as well as their menus — are 'successfully representing the city's dynamic cultures and communities with respect and intention.'
'As the focus shifts west — beyond the beach — a new generation of chefs, bartenders, sommeliers and restaurateurs are thinking locally by emphasizing South Florida Produce, catering to year-round residents and embracing Miami's global influences while paying homage to the industry leaders who have come before them,' he said in a statement.
The culinary luminaries honored include Maria Teresa Gallina and Nicolas Martinez of Recoveco in South Miami and Juan Camilo Liscano of Palma in Miami. Both restaurants were added to the 2025 Michelin Guide this year, and Liscano won the Michelin Young Chef Award this year as well.
Also honored was Tam Pham of the insanely popular Vietnamese spot Tam Tam, named a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide, who's also one of the owners of the new Double Luck Chinese on the 79th Street Causeway.
Evan Burgess and Osmel Gonzalez of the Michelin-starred EntreNos in Miami Shores earned the Game Changer award, which recognizes professionals whose leadership is advancing the industry. Burgess and Gonzalez, who try to source the majority of their ingredients from Florida, earned a Michelin Green Star this year. They were honored for their locally sourced produce and land-based protein; sustainably sourced seafood; dinnerware made by a Miami-based artisan, an organic and biodynamic wine program and the repurposing of food waste into vinegars and sauces.
StarChefs is also hosting Miami Rising Stars Restaurant Week from May 7-21 — yes, that's technically two weeks — during which the chefs will prepare new and special dishes at their restaurants to show off their skills.
Here is a full list of this year's Miami winners.
Rising Stars chefs
Estefania Andrade of Trippy Kitchen, Tripping Animals Brewing Co. in Miami
Ivan Barros of Magic Wine Bar in Miami and Coconut Grove (formerly at Amara at Paraiso)
Javier Cussato and Carmen Ibarra of Atomica at MIA Market in the Design District
Maria Teresa Gallina and Nicolas Martinez of Recoveco in South Miami
Juan Camilo Liscano of Palma in Miami
Tam Pham of Tam Tam in downtown Miami
Juan Manuel Umbert of Pasta in Wynwood
Pastry chef
Ana De Sa Martins, formerly of Stubborn Seed in Miami Beach
Bakers
Christian Julien and Oscar Lastra of Facade
Bartender
Rensel Cabrera of The Sylvester in Miami
Sommeliers
Gabriela Ospina of Boia De in Little River
Matt Whitney of Sunny's Steakhouse in Little River
Game Changer award
Evan Burgess and Osmel Gonzalez of EntreNos in Miami Shores
Community award
Karla Hoyos of Tacotomia in Miami
Restaurateurs
Josh Hackler, Pili Restrepo and Sebastian Vargas of Grassfed Culture Hospitality
Concept award
Kavan Burke, Wayne Sharpe and Harrison Sofer of Jrk! in downtown Miami
Mentor award
Diego Oka of La Mar by Gaston Acurio
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
13 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Vietnamese are helping Cuba with 38-cent donations. A lot of them.
Her donation joined a chain-reaction of generosity. A new crowdfunding campaign for Cuba led by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Red Cross Society has raised more than $13 million in the first week — far more than organizers had expected for the entire two-month effort. And with that unexpected surge has come a complex reckoning. For many in Cuba and Vietnam, the charitable transfers bring up memories of past solidarity, when both nations shared dreams of communist independence won through revolution. But there's also the awkward realization that their roles have reversed because of choices made as the Cold War ended. Advertisement Vietnam, when faced with shortages and starvation, pivoted quickly toward free enterprise in the mid-'80s, leading to restored relations with the United States in 1995, and a manufacturing and agricultural boom that has nearly erased extreme poverty. Advertisement Cuba stuck with ideology and one-man rule. The island nation, which had an unequal but developed economy roughly on par with Argentina's in the 1950s, remained in the intransigent grip of Fidel Castro until his death in 2016. Even after President Barack Obama visited Cuba, seeking to end decades of hostility, Castro, his brother Raúl, and their handpicked successors maintained strict state control of the economy. A US trade embargo had been limiting Cuba's options since 1962. Compounding that challenge, Cuba's leaders failed to empower the country's well-educated population. From 1999 to 2016, the best that most Cubans could do was start small restaurants or other home-based businesses that the government harassed with high taxes and hefty regulations. Vietnamese economists — the architects of the country's success story — frequently traveled to Havana throughout this period, offering guidance and lectures. They said that many of their presentations drawing on what worked well in Vietnam, like letting people start small businesses without permits, were kept secret by Cuban officials. 'They didn't want to implement the freedom to do business,' said Le Dang Doanh, the former head of Vietnam's Central Institute for Economic Management. Today, Cuba is on its knees. Tourism never recovered from the pandemic. Facing tougher enforcement of the embargo from Washington, everything seems to be breaking down at once. Blackouts have spread because of a decaying power grid and a lack of fuel. Consumer prices have risen fourfold over the past five years, according to experts, spurring migration and putting already-scarce food and medicine beyond the reach of many workers. Even the infant mortality rate, which Cuba's leaders had proudly brought to levels lower than the United States, has been rising. Advertisement 'Cuba is in very bad shape,' said Carlos Alzugaray, an analyst and former Cuban diplomat in Havana. 'And those who are in power don't seem to know what to do either because they are ignorant, or inept, or corrupt, or don't care or because they are terrified about losing control if they go too far in opening up.' Vietnam, while supporting Cuba's call for the United States to drop its embargo, has become even more determined to help. Most of the rice that Cubans receive through government rations are donations from Vietnam. Last year, To Lam, Vietnam's top leader, visited the island and promised closer ties. The crowdfunding campaign, which aims to celebrate the 65th year of diplomatic relations between the two countries, represents a more emotional step of people-to-people connection. It has attracted more than 1.7 million donations, mostly from 38 cents (10,000 dong) to $38. Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the president of Cuba, posted a public thank you note on the social platform X over the weekend, expressing gratitude for 'an act of love' that comes from 'a hardworking and heroic people who were able to rise up after several wars and today dazzle the world with their sustained progress.' He did not say how Vietnam's money would be used. Some Vietnamese critics online said it made no sense to support leaders who have made the Cuban people poor. Donors said they just hoped the cash transfers would get to the people in need. 'I know the support from Vietnam won't be enough to solve everything, but I hope it helps in some way,' said Mo, 33. 'And I hope their economy will get better so people there can have better lives.' Advertisement This article originally appeared in
CNN
21 hours ago
- CNN
A British restaurant is launching the UK's first water menu
London — The French are known for their love of fine wines. La Popote, a French-style restaurant in northern England, is no exception. The Michelin Guide -listed eatery in the county of Cheshire offers diners the choice of almost 140 varieties of wine. But now the business is taking a bold step to cater for discerning non-drinkers by offering an entire menu of bottled water. Diners will have the choice of three different bottles of still water and four sparkling beginning Friday, as well as complimentary tap water. La Popote is tapping into a global trend away from alcohol. For example, based on a Gallup poll last year, 58% of adult Americans drink alcohol, down from 67% in 2022. A growing number of Americans are giving up alcohol, whether permanently or temporarily, while many restaurants are offering a bigger range of mocktails, and sober bars and non-alcoholic bottle shops are becoming increasingly popular. Chef Joseph Rawlins, who founded and runs La Popote with his French partner Gaëlle Radigon, said they had initially been approached about the idea by Doran Binder, who was already supplying the restaurant with their 'house' water under his Crag Spring Water brand. A water sommelier, certified by the Fine Water Academy, Binder first suggested the idea of a water menu to the couple three years ago. 'I laughed it off,' Rawlins told CNN. 'I initially thought it was a ridiculous idea.' But when Binder invited the couple to a tasting at the 'water bar' he owns in the Peak District, a national park in north-central England, they were sold. 'It was mind-blowing,' Rawlins said of the experience, adding that he now believes that 'water isn't just water.' At that first tasting, they tried five or six different varieties. 'Then we did a second tasting with exactly the same waters but we paired them with certain foods – like Manchego cheese, Comté cheese, chocolate, Parma ham, olives. Like with a wine, the taste just changed.' The restaurant is the first in Britain to offer a water menu, according to Binder, and one of only a handful in the world. Binder curated La Popote's water menu, which features a selection from across Europe, including Britain, France, Spain and Portugal. Prices range from £5 ($6.80) for a large bottle of his Crag brand to £19 ($26) for The Palace of Vidago, a Portuguese sparkling water. 'The measurement of minerals in water is what drives taste and flavor,' Binder told CNN. That measurement is called Total Dissolved Solids, or TDS, he said. 'Distilled water is zero TDS. It's brilliant for cleaning windows, brilliant for electrical appliances, brilliant for your car battery – rubbish for the human being,' he said, noting that sea water is at the other end of the spectrum with 30,000-40,000 TDS. The restaurant's range goes from 14 TDS in the Lauretana sparkling mineral water from Italy to 3,300 for the Vichy Celastins from France. The French water initially tastes rather salty, Rawlins said. 'Then you put it with something that's quite salty like a Parma ham and they both naturally balance each other out, so the water is not salty anymore and it's a longer-lasting flavor of the ham in your mouth.' How the water is served is also important, Rawlins said. 'We recommend it at room temperature with ice and a slice of lemon. Water is like wine – if it's too cold, it kills all the flavor.' The water menu is giving diners 'another dimension,' he added, noting that 'a lot of people are drinking less now.' Binder, who has never drunk alcohol, agrees. 'There are more and more people who don't drink alcohol, like me. I'm a massive foodie and when I go to a restaurant they can't wait to throw a wine menu in front of my nose, which will never be of interest to me. 'But put a water menu in front of me and now you've opened up a whole new revenue stream. It's appealing to restaurants and it's appealing to more and more health-conscious people and really it's all about the epicurean experience.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Truong Minh Quy And Nicolas Graux On The Story Behind Their Locarno Title ‘Hair, Paper, Water…' & How Technological Shifts Are Affecting Filmmaking: 'The Language Of Cinema Has Changed'
Vietnamese filmmaker Truong Minh Quy became an instant arthouse favorite at Cannes in 2024 with his impressive third feature Viet and Nam. Just over a year later, Quy is back with a new project, co-directed with his frequent collaborator Nicolas Graux (Century of Smoke). Hair, Paper, Water…, or Tóc, giấy và nước…, in the original Vietnamese, debuts this evening in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente Competition at Locarno. More from Deadline Locarno Open Doors: Nigerian, Zimbabwean & Ivorian Projects Among Winners Mohammad Rasoulof On Why He Isn't In A Rush To Follow Up 'The Seed Of The Sacred Fig' & His Plans To Return To Iran - Locarno Locarno Pro Awards: 'Nina Roza' By Canadian Filmmaker Geneviève Dulude-De Celles Leads Winners Shot over three years on a vintage Bolex camera, the film is a rich portrait of an elderly, unnamed woman who, born in a cave more than 60 years ago, now lives in a village caring for her children and grandchildren. The film captures her daily life and the transmission of her fragile native language, Rục, to the younger generations, as she dreams of her deceased mother calling her home to her mountain cave. The film was produced by Thomas Hakim and Julien Graff of Petit Chaos, the company behind Payal Kapadia's groundbreaking feature debut All We Imagine As Light, alongside Julie Freres. Italian-based sales company Lights On is handling the project, which has been a significant point of intrigue at Locarno. Graux and Truong previously co-directed the short Porcupine (2023), which premiered at Rotterdam and won the jury prize for best artistic contribution at Pink Screens Film Festival. Speaking to us ahead of today's premiere, the pair discusses how their professional collaboration began, why they decided to shoot Hair, Paper, Water... using a vintage Bolex camera, and how what they described as cinema's rapidly changing relationship to techonology shaped their film. 'This discussion about technology is not purely aesthetic; it's not about which film looks digital or filmic. The language of cinema has changed,' Quy explains. Read the interview below. Locarno ends on August 16. DEADLINE: How did you two meet? NICOLAS GRAUX: We met in Brussels just before COVID. Quy was studying in France. We lived together throughout the pandemic and began showing each other our previous works and exchanging ideas. I saw The Tree House, Quy's previous documentary. He made that before Viet and Nam. The main character of that film is also the main character in Hair, Paper, Water. Quy told me that during the production of The Tree House, she had once told him that if her valley gets flooded, she would go back to her cave by boat. That image stuck in our heads, and we thought it could be another film. That's how we built the idea of this movie. TRUONG MINH QUY: At the beginning of this process, we accidentally found a Bolex camera in our room under a bed. It belonged to Nicolas's friend and had been there for a few years. We'd both shot on film before, but never on a Bolex, which is very small and limited in its capabilities. It's a very vintage camera. So when we discovered that camera and the idea of the woman traveling back to her home on water, we knew we would use the Bolex. DEADLINE: Wow, did you shoot with just one Bolex? They're quite temprimental aren't they? GRAUX: We had two Bolex cameras. With a Bolex, you only have three-minute rolls. And each time you use the crank, you can shoot for about 30 seconds maximum. QUY: It's like TikTok. GRAUX: It's primitive TikTok. On one side, you have to be careful about what you shoot because you can't redo it several times. Conversely, it also frees you because you know that the camera itself is shaping the film's language. For example, during production, I was able to react to what I was seeing around me, like filming a dog sitting next to me for 15 seconds or a hibiscus flower under the rain. These moments may not have narrative functions, but they give shape to the film. DEADLINE: The Bolex can't record sound right? How did you get around that? The film has such a vivid soundscape. QUY: We worked with three different sound recordists. There is no synchronized sound on the Bolex. And it's impossible to use a clapperboard because you only have 30 seconds to shoot, so all the sound in the film was pre-created sound on a set. DEADLINE: And when did you shoot this? How long did it take? Can you talk me through the production. Was it before Viet and Nam?GRAUX: We had two main shooting periods with a two-year gap in between. That's why, in the film, you see that suddenly the boy had grown. That's not something we planned, but we came back to the village two years later because we knew we wanted to shoot more. QUY: The first shoot was just before Viet and Nam in 2022. And we finished shooting in December 2024. DEADLINE: Did you find it easier to build the production and raise funds during the second shoot because of the success?QUY: When we started financing the film, we decided, with Thomas, Julien, and the other producers, that we didn't want it to be big. We just wanted to find enough money so we can have time. And the crew in Vietnam was very small. We had four or five people. For me, it was lucky that I decided to shoot this film before Viet and Nam. If I had to start now, I don't think I would have enough energy to do During the first shoot, we knew that we would like to do something with the language, but we weren't so sure how. It became clearer during the editing process between the first and second shoot. That's when we went back and built the film around the language. The construction of the film is actually super basic. You see something on screen, and then you hear a word to describe that thing. It's like a visual dictionary. And we like that, the relationship between image and sound. I actually spoke with the main character from our film yesterday, and she had a visitor, an archivist who had come to record the language. It's great that people are also interested in archiving her Yes, this film calls back to previous cinema traditions like silent movies, family movies, and filmmakers like Jonas Mekas. We didn't intend to create a home movie. However, one thing we noticed that had changed during the three years of production is the rapid change of technology in relation to filmmaking. People have already stopped talking to each other and now talk to computers. This discussion about technology is not purely aesthetic; it's not about which film looks digital or filmic. The language of cinema has changed. I don't care if this film is good or not. This film is instead about making a project that has something to say or holds qualities that stay with you. And there's something human in that. DEADLINE: How would you like this film to be seen by audiences. I could see it in the gallery space, for instance. GRAUX: For us, it's quite clear that it's for cinema, especially because this film brings our main character back to her cave. There is darkness in the cave, and that is a feeling that you only get in cinemas when you face the big screen. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Emmys, Oscars, Grammys & More Everything We Know About Prime Video's 'Legally Blonde' Prequel Series 'Elle' Solve the daily Crossword
