These IL Restaurants, Chefs Earn Honors At James Beard Awards Ceremony

CHICAGO, IL — Two Chicago establishments received honors at Monday’s James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

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.

In Illinois, Kumiko in Chicago received the outstanding bat honor and chef Noah Sandoval at Oriole in Chicago was recognized as the best chef in the Great Lakes region.

Kumiko is an intimate Japanese dining bar in Chicago's West Loop. Last year, Kumiko chef Josh Mummert won the 2024 Michelin Guide Chicago Young Chef Award Winner.

Sandoval is the owner and Executive Chef of two-Michelin-starred Oriole in the West Loop, which opened in 2016. Sandoval and his wife Cara also opened Kumiko in 2018 with bartender Julia Momose.

2025 is 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.

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Other Illinois restaurants and chefs were named semifinalists earlier this year were:

• Brian Jupiter and Aaron Torricelli in the "Outstanding Restaurateur" category
• Chef Lee Wolen in the "Outstanding Chef" category
• Galit in the "Outstanding Restaurant" category
• Chef Jacob Potashnick in the "Emerging Chef" category
• Cariño in the "Best New Restaurant" category
• Leigh Omilinsky in the "Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker" category
• Elske in the "Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program" category
• Bisous in the "Best New Bar" category
• Thomas Kakalios in the "Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service" category
• Christopher Marty in the "Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service" category

For the Best Chef: Great Lakes — a category that includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio — semifinalists included:

• Marcos Ascencio of Mariscos San Pedro
• Thai Dang of HaiSous
• Diana Davila of Mi Tocaya Antojería
• Bo Fowler of BiXi Beer
• Joe Frillman of Daisies
• Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower of Maxwells Trading
• Lamar Moore of ETC.
• Sujan Sarkar of Indienne
• Zeeshan Shah and Yoshi Yamada, Superkhana International
• Marika Josephson and Aaron Kleidon from Scratch Brewing

Only five Illinois semifinalists advanced to finalists in April including:

Outstanding Restaurant presented by Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water

• Galit, Chicago, IL
  • Galit is a Middle Eastern restaurant in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The restaurant is operated by Andrés Clavero and James-Beard Award-winning chef Zachary Engel.

Outstanding Bar

• Kumiko, Chicago, IL
  • Kumiko is an intimate Japanese dining bar in Chicago's West Loop. Last year, Kumiko chef Josh Mummert won the 2024 Michelin Guide Chicago Young Chef Award Winner.

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

• Thai Dang, HaiSous, Chicago, IL
• Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower, Maxwells Trading, Chicago, IL
• Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago, IL