At a gala ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 10, restaurants and chefs were honored at the James Beard Awards, often regarded as the Oscars of the food world, highlighting some of the country’s most notable gastronomic talent.
The annual accolades given out by nonprofit foundation featured more than 100 restaurants as finalists across 22 categories. All winners receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia.
The 2024 award recipients include Lord Maynard Llera of Los Angeles-based Kuya Lord, who won for Best Chef: California; Masako Morishita of Perry’s (Washington D.C.) for Emerging Chef of the Year; Gregory Gourdet for Best Chef: Northwest-Pacific, who scored his third consecutive medallion; and Dakar NOLA (New Orleans) for Best New Restaurant. American chef and food writer Ruth Reichl (who, incidentally, helped coin the term “Oscars of the food world“) received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lula Drake Wine Parlour (Columbia, South Carolina) won for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, a field that also included Ying Chang and Robert Adamson’s Strong Water Anaheim, the only Orange County name nominated this year in any category.
SEE ALSO: Strong Water Anaheim founders talk James Beard Awards, cocktail creation and a new project
ZU Bakery (Portland, Maine) won for Outstanding Bakery in a category featuring Gusto Bread of Long Beach. Gusto Bread’s nomination marked the first time a Long Beach eatery had been a James Beard Award finalist.
The full list of James Beard Awards 2024 winners is as follows:
Emerging Chef: Masako Morishita, Perry’s, Washington, D.C.
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery, Portland, Maine
Outstanding Bakery: ZU Bakery, Portland, Maine
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program: Lula Drake Wine Parlour, Columbia, South Carolina
Outstanding Bar: Jewel of the South, New Orleans, Louisiana
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic: Harley Peet of Bas Rouge, Easton, Maryland
SEE ALSO: Gusto Bread rises from the living room to a full-service bakery in Long Beach
Best Chef, New York State: Charlie Mitchell of Clover Hill, Cloverhill, Brooklyn, New York
Best Chef, South: Valerie Chang of Maty’s, Miami, Florida
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Best Chef, Northwest-Pacific: Gregory Gourdet of Kann, Portland, Oregon
Best Chef, Northeast: David Standridge of the Shipwright’s Daughter, Mystic, Connecticut
Best Chef, Midwest: Christina Nguyen, Hai Hai, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Best Chef, California: Lord Maynard Llera, Kuya Lord, Los Angeles, California
Best Chef, Mountain: Matt Vawter, Rootstalk Breck, Breckenridge, Colorado
Best Chef, Southwest: Rene Andrade, Bacanora, Phoenix
Best Chef, Southeast: Paul Smith, 1010 Bridge, Charleston, West Virginia
Best Chef, Great Lakes: Hajime Sato, Sozai, Clawson, Michigan
Best Chef, Texas: Ana Liz Pulido, Ana Liz Taqueria, Mission, Texas
Outstanding Hospitality: Lula Cafe, Chicago, Illinois
Best New Restaurant: Dakar, New Orleans, Louisiana
Outstanding Restauranteur: Erika Whitaker and Kelly Whitaker, Id Est, Boulder, Colorado
Outstanding Restaurant: Langbaan, Portland, Oregon
Outstanding Chef: Michael Rafidi, Albi, Washington D.C.
2024 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award: Ruth Reichl
2024 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year: The LEE Initiative
A body of judges in the culinary industry review nominees for their prowess in the kitchen or behind the bar, as well as behavioral ethics, including employee treatment. The James Beard Foundation has given awards since 1991, taking a pause in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The James Beard Foundation also bestows awards to the media, which includes cookbook authors, journalists and other media bodies. The media awards were handed out at a ceremony on Saturday, June 8.