Meet the Newest James Beard Award Winners from the South | Listen

From Austin to Baltimore, these are 2025’s Southern award winners

On Monday, June 16, the top talent of the culinary world gathered for the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards at the Lyric Opera in Chicago and, as always, we were eager to see which chefs, beverage professionals, and restaurants from around the South would take home hefty medallions. Best Chef: Texas went to Thomas Bille of Belly of the Beast in Spring, Texas, while Nashville chef Jake Howell of Peninsula earned the Best Chef: Southeast title. Best Chef: South went to Nando Chang, who runs Itamae AO with his sister Valerie Chang in Miami, and Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic went to Carlos Delgado of Causa and Amazonia in Washington, DC. In beverage, the restaurant Charleston in Baltimore took honors for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program while Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service went to Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie’s in Austin. It was also a joy to watch the Chase family receive an America’s Classics Award for their iconic New Orleans restaurant Dooky Chase and to watch food journalist and author Toni Tipton-Martin be recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award. And, on Saturday, we were thrilled to see the cookbook Our South by chef Ashleigh Shanti take home the award in the U.S. Foodways category.

The speeches of the night were full of pride, tears, and notably, references to the many immigrants who work in and run the restaurants the awards celebrated. Flags of various nations made it on stage as stories unfolded about a chef’s parents, or themselves, landing in America and turning to a kitchen for work. Chang, of Itamae AO, highlighted the bittersweet element of being in his position. “I am proud to say that I am a Peruvian American of Chinese descent. That in itself, [is] at times a confusing identity. My grandfather used to remind me that Asian Peruvians weren’t always accepted back at home in Peru [and] in the 1990s when terrorism and instability shook Peru, my father made the decision to flee the chaos and come to Miami.” He said he fell in love with America’s fast highways right out of the airport. “[One of the ways] I truly embraced this country was my first day in a kitchen, where all different types of people from all different types of backgrounds were working together towards the same goal. It felt natural to obsess over raw fish, sushi rice, knives, and rap music. That combination, the beautiful chaos, gave me the identity that I have been searching for my whole life. As bittersweet as this moment is for many immigrants in America, I want to say I could not be prouder or feel stronger to be a part of this beautiful country.”  

In the virtual press room, Southern winners including Arjav Ezekiel shared what the award meant to them. “I hope it spotlights that you can build a beverage list that’s dedicated to great people, doing great farming, making incredible beverages that are about place. For us, it’s always about the people. I think people forget [because] wine is a big part of any celebration, but these are also blue-collar jobs and that require a ton of hard work. It’s really special for the Beard Foundation to recognize the hard work of the people in the fields, and also the people on the floor of every restaurant who are doing the work.”

For Jake Howell of Nashville’s Peninsula, the award carries special weight thanks to Music City’s culinary community. “Nashville allowed me to cook food that was compelling and interesting to me, and people here supported me. People were warm and welcoming. Usually it’s all competition. But I love it, right? Because it really allows us to try to have our restaurants be as good as we possibly can and not worry about what the other ones are doing. It’s like we’re all on the same team.”

Congratulations to all the winners—you can find a full list here. 

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