Chef Named Best In CA, Wins 2025 James Beard Award

California restaurants were snubbed at Monday’s James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony at the Lyric Opera in Chicago, but a Los Angeles Chef was named the best in the Golden State.

The awards, regarded as the Academy Awards of the U.S. restaurant industry, honor excellence across a range of categories, from fine dining to casual gems.

Kato Chef Jon Yao was named the best in California at the 2025 James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony. Kato is an Asian contemporary Michelin-starred restaurant known for its high-quality cooking.

"Yao is on a mission, deftly drawing on his Taiwanese background to deliver inspired, bold dishes," according to the Michelin guide. "Far from his first location, the Row DTLA dining room is a cool enclave of polished concrete, steel, plate glass and light wood furnishings, along with an open kitchen that features prominently. It is a beautiful stage for his tasting menu, which is not shy about seasoning."

Yao told the Los Angeles Times in 2023 that he considers Kato a combination of Southern California, his upbringing in the San Gabriel Valley and his mother's cooking.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the prestigious culinary awards that recognize eateries and chefs who create exceptional food, food media content, and better food systems, according to the James Beard Foundation. Awards also recognize a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive.

This year, in celebration of the pivotal anniversary, the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards were presented across 25 categories, with an expanded focus on beverages, introducing three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

Other categories include outstanding restaurateur, outstanding chef, outstanding restaurant, emerging chef, best new restaurant, outstanding bakery, outstanding pastry chef or baker, outstanding hospitality, outstanding wine and other beverages program, outstanding bar and best chef.

Another California restaurant, Benu in San Francisco, was named a semi-finalist in this year's awards. Benu is a three-star Michelin restaurant that previously won James Beard awards for outstanding wine program in 2019 and best chef in 2017.

The following businesses were named finalists in their respective categories:

• Gusto Bread, Long Beach (Outstanding Bakery)
• Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, Atomic Workshop —The Anchovy Bar, State Bird Provisions, and The Progress, San Francisco (Outstanding Restaurateur)
• Harbor House Inn, Elk (Outstanding Hospitality)
• Strong Water, Anaheim (Outstanding Wine and other Beverages Program)
• Jacob Brown, Lazy Bear, San Francisco (Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service)
• Daniel Castillo, Heritage Barbecue, San Juan Capistrano (Best Chef: California)
• Richard Lee, Saison, San Francisco (Best Chef: California)
• Tara Monsod, ANIMAE, San Diego (Best Chef: California)
• Kosuke Tada, Mijoté, San Francisco (Best Chef: California)

Kato is located at 777 Alameda St., Los Angeles, 90021.