Here are the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award winners
James Beard Awards season is finally here! Over the past few days, the James Beard Foundation descended up Chicago to celebrate the food, drink and hospitality industry. The 2025 James Beard Awards included various ceremonies, including the Impact Awards and the Media Awards, all culminating in the Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16.
Held at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago, the James Beard Awards honor excellence in the culinary industry, from fine dining establishments to casual neighborhood favorites. Nyesha Arrington and Andrew Zimmern hosted this year's mainstage, while the red carpet and ceremony livestream was hosted by some of New York's own, including Fariyal Abdullahi of Hav & Mar and Gregory Gourdet of Maison Passerelle, alongside Nilou Motamed and Francis Lam. The final awards ceremony was livestreamed via Eater.
Out of the seven awards this year, New York brought home a whopping five. This year's awards ceremony included three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. New York took home one of the inaugural awards, as Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service was awarded to Ignacio Jimenez of Superbueno. As for Outstanding Hospitality, the honor went to Atomix. This isn't the first win for the Nomad restaurant, which previously won two James Beard Awards, including Best Chef: New York State in 2023 and Outstanding Restaurant Design (75 Seats and Under) in 2019. Outstanding Restaurateur went to Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr for their trio of French restaurants— Frenchette, Le Rock and Le Veau d'Or. The duo beat out fellow New York restaurateur Simon Kim of COTE, Undercote and COQODAQ.
As for the title of Best Chef: New York State, the award went to Vijay Kumar of Semma. Kumar follows in the footsteps of his Unapologetic Foods colleague, Chintan Pandya, who won the award in 2022 for his work at Dhamaka. Chef Kumar won over Nasim Alikhani of Sofreh, Ryan Fernandez of Southern Junction Barbecue in Buffalo, NY, Eiji Ichimura of Sushi Ichimura and Atsushi Kono of Kono. When asked in a post-interview if New York was soon to be the new central hub of Indian cuisine, Kumar agreed, saying, 'a lot more Indian every year from every single state, not just from New York.'
One of the most important awards of the evening, Jungsik Yim of Jungsik won Outstanding Chef. Nominated for the first time, Jungsik's award follows a three-Michelin-star rating from the Michelin Guide in 2024, the first Korean restaurant in the U.S. to receive the honor. Gabriel Kreuether of his eponymous restaurant, Gabriel Kreuther, was also up for the award.
Leading up to the Restaurant and Chef Awards, the Foundation held the 2025 James Beard Media Awards on Saturday, June 14, honoring the nation's top food authors, broadcast producers, hosts and journalists. While the winners of the Impact Awards were announced in April, the Foundation honored them on Sunday, June 14. Previously known as the Leadership Awards, the Impact Awards recognized leaders and organizations 'focused on climate change mitigation, the Farm Bill, racial and gender equity, and innovative business and staffing practices that set new standards for the independent restaurant industry.' Brooklyn's Anthony Edwards Jr was one of the recipients of the award for his work at EatOkra. Together with his fellow co-founder and partner Janique Edwards, the two created the app to connect foodies with Black-owned restaurants, eateries and food trucks across the nation.
Also announced this past April were the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Humanitarian of the Year Award. The awards went to author, culinary journalist and activist Toni Tipton-Martin and founder of Cafe Momentum Chad Houser, respectively.
Here are the winning 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award winners for New York:
Ignacio Jimenez of Superbueno
Best Chef: New York State
Vijay Kumar, Semma, New York, NY
Outstanding Hospitality
Atomix, New York, NY
Outstanding Restaurateur
Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, Frenchette, Le Rock and Le Veau d'Or
Outstanding Chef
Jungsik Yim, Jungsik
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