James Beard Awards: Full Winners List Of The Coveted Awards – View Pics

A Palestinian chef utilizing traditional cooking skills, a Senegalese restaurant in New Orleans, and an elite Thai restaurant in Oregon received coveted James Beard Awards at a red carpet gala in Chicago.

More than 100 restaurants were contenders in 22 categories for the culinary world’s equivalent of the Oscars, representing a varied variety of food and chef expertise, a recent turn for the James Beard Foundation after difficult, pandemic-era years. Just becoming a finalist may get widespread attention and improve company. The most anticipated categories were the prizes for outstanding restaurateur, chef, and restaurant.

Michael Rafidi, whose Washington, D.C. restaurant Albi earned a coveted Michelin Star in 2022, was named best chef among five candidates.

Restaurants apply for the honors. Judges, who are largely nameless, sample the dish before voting. Nominees are evaluated for both the food and the behavioral code of ethics, which includes how staff are handled. Engraved medallions were distributed to winners announced at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Dakar NOLA, a Senegalese restaurant in New Orleans, received the Best New Restaurant Award.

The James Beard Foundation has presented awards since 1991, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, when the organization discontinued them while the restaurant business dealt with the COVID-19 epidemic. The organization was also criticized for a lack of ethnic diversity and claims of inappropriate behavior by certain finalists. Foundation leaders pledged to raise ethical standards and become more reflective of the industry.

Langbaan, an upmarket Thai restaurant that incorporates Pacific Northwest products, won excellent restaurant, while Chicago’s Lula Cafe, a bistro that opened in 1999 on the city’s North Side, won for outstanding hospitality.

Erika and Kelly Whitaker, a Colorado couple, received Outstanding Restauranteur. Their Id Est Hospitality Group operates various Colorado restaurants, including The Wolf’s Tailor, which serves wild meat such as smoked deer. Its restaurants emphasize zero waste and sustainable methods.

The James Beard Awards were attended by lots of celebrities. Not just that people came in huge numbers to see who actually had won the coveted awards. Here are a few glimpses from the grand evening:

People arrive for the James Beard Awards at the Civic Opera House in Chicago.

People arrive for the James Beard Awards at the Civic Opera House in Chicago.

People arrive for the James Beard Awards at the Civic Opera House in Chicago.

Chef Michael Rafidi of Albi in Washington, D.C., stands on the red carpet before the James Beard Awards ceremony in Chicago. Rafidi won the James Beard award for Outstanding Chef.

Id Est Hospitality Group co-founders and Colorado chefs Kelly Whitaker, left, and Erika Whitaker pose together on the red carpet before the James Beard Awards ceremony in Chicago. They won the James Beard award for Best Restauranteur.

Chef and owner Jason Hammel, second from left, and his wife Lea Tshilds, to his right, representing Chicago’s Lula Cafe, attend the James Beard Awards in Chicago. Lula Cafe won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality.

Representatives for Langbaan in Portland, Ore., pose together on the red carpet before the James Beard Awards ceremony in Chicago. Langbaan won the James Beard award for Outstanding Restaurant.

Dr. Afua ‘Effie’ Richardson, left, and chef Serigne Mbaye pose on the red carpet before the James Beard Awards ceremony in Chicago. Their restaurant Dakar NOLA, based in New Orleans, won the James Beard award for Best New Restaurant.

Chef Rick Bayless, a former James Beard award winner, attends the awards ceremony in Chicago.