2022 James Beard Foundation Restaurant And Chef Awards: The Full List

ACROSS AMERICA — The James Beard Foundation presented its 2022 Restaurant and Chef Awards at the Lyric Opera of Chicago Monday after a two-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic.

The awards are regarded as the Oscars of the culinary industry.

The industry remains in a recovery phase after lost business during the pandemic and “still needs support,” James Beard Foundation CEO Clare Reichenbach said at the ceremony, according to a news release.

The awards honor not only individual winners but also “our entire industry — and the incredible resilience, fortitude, talent, and leadership so many have shown over the past two years,” Reichenbach said.

The awards had been on a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. During that time, the awards program “underwent a full audit of its policies and procedures, continuing the work to remove bias, increase transparency and accessibility, and make the program more aligned with the Foundation’s mission and values.”

Restaurant and Chef Award Winners

Outstanding Restaurateur: Chris Bianco, Tratto, Pane Bianco, and Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
Outstanding Chef: Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, Georgia
Outstanding Restaurant: Chai Pani, Asheville, North Carolina
Emerging Chef: Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin, Texas
Best New Restaurant: Owamni, Minneapolis
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Warda Bouguettaya, Warda Pâtisserie, Detroit
Outstanding Baker: Don Guerra, Barrio Bread, Tucson, Arizona
Outstanding Hospitality: Cúrate, Asheville, North Carolina
Outstanding Wine Program: The Four Horsemen, New York City
Outstanding Bar Program: Julep, Houston

Best Chefs (By Region)

Brandon Jew, Mister Jiu's, San Francisco (California)

Erick Williams, Virtue Restaurant & Bar, Chicago (Great Lakes — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio)

Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia (Mid-Atlantic — Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia)

Dane Baldwin, The Diplomat, Milwaukee (Midwest — Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin)

Caroline Glover, Annette, Aurora, Colorado (Mountain — Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming)

Chintan Pandya, Dhamaka, New York City (New York State)

Nisachon Morgan, Saap, Randolph, Vermont (Northeast — Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont)

Robynne Maii, Fête, Honolulu (Northwest and Pacific — Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington)
Ricky Moore, SALTBOX Seafood Joint, Durham, North Carolina (Southeast — Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia)

Adam Evans, Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, Alabama (South — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Peurto Rico)

Fernando Olea, Sazón, Santa Fe, New Mexico (Southwest — Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma)

Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo, Austin, Texas (Texas)

Restaurant and Chef America’s Classics Awards

• The Busy Bee Café, Atlanta: Tracy Gates, owner
• Casa Vega, Sherman Oaks, California; Christy Vega, owner
• Corinne’s Place, Camden, New Jersey; Corinne Bradley-Powers owner
• Florence’s Restaurant, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Florence Kemp, owner
• Solly’s Grille, Milwaukee, WisconsinI; Glenn Fieber, owner
• Wo Hop, New York, New York; Huang Family, owners

Also celebrated Monday were :

• Humanitarian of the Year Grace Young for her work to save America’s Chinatowns amid Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate during the COVID-19 pandemic: and
• Lifetime Achievement Award winner Martin Yan, one of the most prolific chefs on TV with 3,500 episodes and 30 cookbooks. Yan has brought the joy of Chinese cooking to America with his motto, “If Yan Can Cook, So Can You!”