Tonight, the James Beard Foundation Restaurant announces the winners of its Restaurant and Chef Awards. The annual event brings out chefs, restaurateurs, and other hospitality industry professionals all dressed to the nines — including 2024 Best Chef: Northwest winner Gregory Gourdet in a striking feathered jacket inspired by the national bird of Haiti — to take home medals for Best New Restaurant, Emerging Chef, and 12 regional best chef categories, among others.
On Saturday, the foundation announced the winners of the James Beard Media Awards in categories spanning the cookbook publishing and food journalism worlds. You can find the full list of those winners here.
This year, the Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony is co-hosted by chefs Nyesha Arrington, Richard Blais, Amanda Freitag, Marcus Samuelsson, and CBS Saturday Morning co-host Michelle Miller. This post will be updated live as more winners are revealed.
2024 James Beard Awards: Restaurant and Chef Award Winners
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
Best Chef: New York State
Charlie Mitchell, Cloverhill, Brooklyn, New York
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
Harley Peet, Bas Rouge, Easton, Maryland
Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
Valerie Chang, Maty’s, Miami
Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
Gregory Gourdet, Kann, Portland, Oregon
The following wins were previously announced:
2024 America’s Classics
- Mandalay, San Francisco
- Vietnam Restaurant, Philadelphia
- Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge, Brookings, South Dakota
- Sylvia’s Restaurant, New York City
- Wade’s Restaurant, Spartanburg, South Carolina
- Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge, Las Vegas
2024 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
Ruth Reichl
2024 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year
The LEE Initiative
2024 Leadership Awards
- Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, Founder/Owner, Down North Pizza and Down North Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director, North American Marine Alliance (NAMA) and Director, National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), Gloucester, Massachusetts
- Helga Garza, Executive Director, Agri-Cultura Network / La Cosecha, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Mai Nguyen, Farmer, Farmer Mai, Sonoma, California
- Emerging Leadership: Christa Barfield, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, FarmerJawn, West Chester, Pennsylvania
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 2024. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation.
Additional photo illustration credits: Getty Images for the James Beard Foundation
