This morning, nominees for the James Beard Awards (aka the foodie Oscars) were announced in Chicago. Here are the local chefs, restaurateurs, and beverage folks who earned a nod:
Outstanding Restaurateur: Chai Pani’s Meherwan Irani and Molly Irani. The original Asheville location won the coveted Outstanding Restaurant Beard award in 2022, and the couple opened a branch of the Indian street food spot in Union Market last year.
Best New Restaurant: Maison Bar a Vins, the swank Adams Morgan wine bar from chef Matt Conroy and the Popal Group, also behind Lutece and Pascual.
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Susan Bae of mod-Vietnamese Penn Quarter restaurant Moon Rabbit—for the third year in a row.
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service: Brent Kroll of Shaw wine bar Maxwell Park.
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program: Field & Main, the locavore destination in Marshall, Virginia.
Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic: Suresh Sundas, chef and co-owner of the modern Indian restaurants Tapori and Daru off H Street. Despite several local semi-finalists, including 2Fifty BBQ’s Fernando Gonzalez and My Little Chamomile’s Cagla Onal-Urel, Sundas wound up as the only non-Pennsylvania chef in the running for the award. Last year, Causa’s Carlos Delgado took the prize, which was DC’s only win.
Lifetime Achievement: LA-based star chef Nancy Silverton, who opened Georgetown hotspot Osteria Mozza in 2024.
Check out the full list of nominees here. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Chicago on Monday, June 15.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
