James Beard Awards 2023 Winners: The Complete List

The James Beard Foundation presented its coveted culinary awards for 2023 in Chicago on Monday night, with the top awards going to Rob Rubba of Oyster Oyster in Washington, D.C., as outstanding chef and to Friday Saturday Sunday in Philadelphia as outstanding restaurant.

Reflecting the awards’ growing clout, Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago and Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois appeared live onstage, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a video, praised the soft power of culinary diplomacy, citing the Beard-award-winning chef Edward Lee’s Maryland crab cakes with gochujang vinaigrette, which were served at a recent state dinner.

In some ways, the gala was the eye in a recent storm of controversies about the group’s process and priorities.

A new voting system was instituted last year, after a 2020 fiasco in which the foundation, after the final voting had taken place, canceled the awards over concerns about diversity and about abuse accusations against some finalists. After an internal audit, the awards process was retooled to reward not only culinary excellence, but equity, leadership, sustainability and community-building.

Like many other institutions, the foundation also opened a public tip line, and at least two of this year’s finalists were the subject of recent inquiries that included interviews with private investigators hired by the foundation’s ethics committee.

The chef and writer Tanya Holland, who leads the awards program, said that overall “the new system is working the way it should.” She noted that the 2023 finalists, chosen by about 240 judges, reflected diversity in every region, cuisine and category. Among about 30 winners this year, 25 are people of color.

Here are the winners:

National Awards

Outstanding Restaurant

Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia

Outstanding Restaurateur

Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a.kitchen + bar, High Street Philly, and others), Philadelphia

Outstanding Chef

Rob Rubba, Oyster Oyster, Washington, D.C.

Emerging Chef

Damarr Brown, Virtue, Chicago

Kann, Portland, Ore.

Outstanding Hospitality

The Quarry, Monson, Maine

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

Ototo, Los Angeles

Outstanding Bar

Bar Leather Apron, Honolulu

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles

Outstanding Bakery

Yoli Tortilleria, Kansas City, Mo.

Regional Awards

Best Chef: New York State

Junghyun Park, Atomix, Manhattan

Best Chef: Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio)

Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, Kasama, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia)

Chutatip Suntaranon, Kalaya, Philadelphia

Best Chef: Midwest (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin)

Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger, Fairchild, Madison, Wis.

Best Chef: Mountain (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming)

Kris Komori, KIN, Boise, Idaho

Best Chef: California

Justin Pichetrungsi, Anajak Thai, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Best Chef: Northeast (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)

Sherry Pocknett, Sly Fox Den Too, Charlestown, R.I.

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington)

Vince Nguyen, Berlu, Portland, Ore.

Best Chef: Southeast (Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia.)

Terry Koval, the Deer and the Dove, Decatur, Ga.

Best Chef: South (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico)

Natalia Vallejo, Cocina al Fondo, San Juan, P.R.

Best Chef: Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma)

Andrew Black, Grey Sweater, Oklahoma City

Best Chef: Texas

Benchawan Jabthong Painter, Street to Kitchen, Houston