James Beard Awards Foundation [Official]
Check back here for live updates on winners
Tonight’s the night: The James Beard Awards are happening right now at a red-carpet event in Chicago. Tonight’s ceremony, co-hosted by Eric Adjepong, Esther Choi, Gail Simmons, and Andrew Zimmern, will honor restaurants and chefs in categories like best new restaurant, emerging chef, and regional best chef categories. The awards are among the highest honors in the American restaurant industry. To watch the livestream, head here.
Some highlights so far: Damarr Brown of Virtue in Chicago has taken home the win for Emerging Chef. The restaurant is something of an awards powerhouse: After winning a spot on Eater’s Best New Restaurant list in 2019 (and plenty of other lists, too), chef Erick Williams took home the James Beard Award for best chef: Great Lakes last year for his work at Virtue. Margarita Manzke of acclaimed LA restaurant République took home the win for outstanding pastry chef or baker after five nominations. Yoli Tortilleria in Kansas City, MO took home the first ever outstanding bakery award.
There’s been drama in the weeks leading up to tonight’s events: At least one chef has been disqualified this year (Timothy Hontzas from the best chef: South category), and in the wake of his revealing his disqualification, at least one committee member and one voting judge have resigned over how the Foundation handled the communication around that. The mess is part and parcel with the efforts the Foundation has made to address bad behavior from nominees and winners, which came under scrutiny after #MeToo allegations of sexual misconduct rocked the restaurant industry beginning in 2017, with extensive reporting on Beard Award winners John Besh, Mario Batali, and Johnny Iuzzini. Last year’s awards were the first to take place after an internal audit and new policies were implemented, including a vetting process.
“Tonight is not about the negative,” said co-host Gail Simmons. “It’s about celebrating chefs and the industry we love so much.” Foundation ceo Clare Reichenbach kicked off the festivities noting: “Given the scale and influence of this industry, positive change that you make can truly have a profound ripple effect…The James Beard Awards are the Foundation’s most powerful change lever and we’re committed to making them a force for good, one that recognizes excellence both on and beyond the plate.” Then, echoing the statements she gave to kick of this year’s Media Awards, she added: “We’re about raising people up, not calling them out.”
We will be updating this list in real time as the awards are announced, so stay tuned.
2023 James Beard Award Chef and Restaurant Winners
Emerging Chef
Damarr Brown, Virtue, Chicago, IL
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles, CA
Outstanding Bakery
Yoli Tortilleria, Kansas City, MO
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Ototo, Los Angeles, CA
Outstanding Bar
Bar Leather Apron, Honolulu, HI
The following wins were previously announced:
Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop, Austin, Texas
La Casita Blanca, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Manago Hotel, Captain Cook, Hawai‘i
Nezinscot Farm, Turner, Maine
Pekin Noodle Parlor, Butte, Montana
Wagner’s Village Inn, Oldenburg, Indiana
2023 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
Madhur Jaffrey CBE
2023 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year
Olivia Watkins and Karen Washington
2023 Leadership Awards
Jim Embry (Sustainable Communities Network, Slow Food USA, and Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance)
Valerie Horn (CANE Kitchen, Cowan Community Center, and City of Whitesburg Farmers Market)
Savonala “Savi” Horne (Land Loss Prevention Project)
Ira Wallace (Southern Exposure Seed Exchange)
Rowen White (Sierra Seeds)
Emerging Leadership: The Burgerville Workers Union
The Media Awards took place on June 3 — read the full winners list here.
Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2023. All editorial content, including this post, is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation.
