The James Beard Foundation revealed its list of nominees who made the cut as 2023 finalists, recognizing the best chefs and restaurateurs in the country. The winners will be announced during the James Beard Awards Gala in Chicago on Monday, June 5, 2023. In the meantime, start exploring the career opportunities with this year's restaurants and chef nominees and/or discover openings on the teams of past years' winners.

Outstanding Restaurant

• Copine (Seattle, WA)
• Cora Cora (West Hartford, CT)
• Friday Saturday Sunday (Philadelphia, PA)
• Lucia (Dallas, TX)
• Mita’s (Cincinnati, OH)

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Brandon Chrostowski - EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute (Cleveland, OH)
• Greg Dulan - Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen, Dulan’s on Crenshaw, and Dulanville (Los Angeles, CA)
• Aaron Hoskins, Sarah Simmons, Nicole Storey, and Elie Yigo - City Grit Hospitality Group (Columbia, SC)
• Yenvy and Quynh Pham - Phở Bắc Sup Shop, Phởcific Standard Time, and The Boat (Seattle, WA)
• Ellen Yin - High Street Hospitality Group (Philadelphia, PA) 

Outstanding Chef

• Rachel Miller - Nightshade Noodle Bar (Lynn, MA)
• Niki Nakayama - n/naka (Los Angeles, CA)
• Erik Ramirez - Llama Inn (Brooklyn, NY)
• Rob Rubba - Oyster Oyster (Washington, D.C.)
• Hajime Sato - Sozai (Clawson, MI)

Emerging Chef

• Damarr Brown - Virtue (Chicago, IL)
• Rashida Holmes - Bridgetown Roti (Los Angeles, CA)
• Serigne Mbaye - Dakar NOLA (New Orleans, LA)
• Charlie Mitchell - Clover Hill (New York, NY)
• Amanda Shulman - Her Place Supper Club (Philadelphia, PA)

Best New Restaurant

• Causa (Washington, D.C.)
• Dept of Culture (New York, NY)
• Don Artemio (Fort Worth, TX)
• Kann (Portland, OR)
• Lupi & Iris (Milwaukee, WI)
• Neng Jr.’s (Asheville, NC)
• Nolia (Cincinnati, OH)
• Obélix (Chicago, IL)
• Restaurant Beatrice (Dallas, TX)
• Tatemó (Houston, TX)

Outstanding Bakery

• Angelo Brocato (New Orleans, LA)
• La Casita Bakeshop (Richardson, TX)
• Kuluntu Bakery (Dallas, TX)
• Yoli Tortilleria (Kansas City, MO)
• Zak the Baker (Miami, FL)

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

• Veronika Gerasimova - Veronika’s Pastry Shop (Billings, MT)
• Elaine Uykimpang Bentz - Café Mochiko (Cincinnati, OH)
• Vince Bugtong - Viridian (Oakland, CA)
• Margarita Manzke - République (Los Angeles, CA)
• Shawn McKenzie - Café Cerés (Minneapolis, MN)

 Outstanding Hospitality

• The Black Cypress (Pullman, WA)
• Bottega (Birmingham, AL)
• Lula Drake (Columbia, SC)
• The Quarry (Monson, ME)
• Sepia (Chicago, IL)

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

• Cote (New York, NY)
• Lazy Bear (San Francisco, CA)
• Nancy's Hustle (Houston, TX)
• OTOTO (Los Angeles, CA)
• Spencer (Ann Arbor, MI)

Outstanding Bar

• Bar Leather Apron (Honolulu, HI)
• Drastic Measures (Shawnee, KS)
• Garagiste (Las Vegas, NV)
• Las Ramblas (Brownsville, TX)
• Rob Roy (Seattle, WA)

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

Best Chef: California

• Gilberto Cetina Jr. - Holbox (Los Angeles, CA)
• Kyle and Katina Connaughton - SingleThread (Healdsburg, CA)
• Brandon Hayato Go - Hayato (Los Angeles, CA)
• Justin Pichetrungsi - Anajak Thai (Sherman Oaks, CA)
• Carlos Salgado - Taco María (Costa Mesa, CA)

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

• Omar Anani - Saffron De Twah (Detroit, MI)
• Diana Dávila Boldin - Mi Tocaya Antojería (Chicago, IL)
• Tim Flores and Genie Kwon - Kasama (Chicago, IL)
• Andy Hollyday - Selden Standard (Detroit, MI)
• Sarah Welch - Marrow (Detroit, MI)

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

• Jesse Ito - Royal Sushi (Philadelphia, PA)
• Dionicio Jiménez - Cantina La Martina (Philadelphia, PA)
• Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski - Apteka (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Michael Rafidi - Albi (Washington, D.C.)
• Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon - Kalaya (Philadelphia, PA)

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

• Sanaa Abourezk - Sanaa’s Gourmet Mediterranean (Sioux Falls, SD)
• Gregory León - Amilinda (Milwaukee, WI)
• Francesco Mangano - Osteria Papavero (Madison, WI)
• Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger - Fairchild (Madison, WI)
• David Utterback - Yoshitomo (Omaha, NE)

Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)

• Salvador Alamilla - Amano (Caldwell, ID)
• Michael Diaz de Leon - BRUTØ (Denver, CO)
• Suchada Johnson - Teton Thai (Teton Village, WY)
• Kris Komori - KIN (Boise, ID)
• Ali Sabbah, Mazza - Mazza (Salt Lake City, UT)

Best Chef: New York State

• Nasim Alikhani - Sofreh (Brooklyn, NY)
• Mary Attea - The Musket Room (New York, NY)
• Amanda Cohen - Dirt Candy (New York, NY)
• Shaina Loew-Banayan - Cafe Mutton (Hudson, NY)
• Junghyun Park - Atomix (New York, NY)

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

• Valentine Howell - Krasi (Boston, MA)
• Christian Hunter - Community Table (Washington, CT)
• Sherry Pocknett - Sly Fox Den Too (Charlestown, RI)
• Yisha Siu - Yunnan Kitchen (Boston, MA)
• Renee Touponce - The Port of Call (Mystic, CT)

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)

• Joshua Dorcak - MÄS (Ashland, OR)
• Vince Nguyen - Berlu (Portland, OR)
• Thomas Pisha-Duffly - Gado Gado (Portland, OR)
• Beau Schooler - In Bocca Al Lupo (Juneau, AK)
• Aaron Verzosa - Archipelago (Seattle, WA)

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

• Sam Fore - Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites (Lexington, KY)
• Josh Habiger - Bastion (Nashville, TN)
• Sam Hart - Counter- (Charlotte, NC)
• Terry Koval - The Deer and the Dove (Decatur, GA)
• Paul Smith - 1010 Bridge (Charleston, WV)

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)

• Ana Castro - Lengua Madre (New Orleans, LA)
• Timothy Hontzas - Johnny’s Restaurant (Homewood, AL)
• Alex Perry and Kumi Omori - Vestige (Ocean Springs, MS)
• Henry Moso - Kabooki Sushi (Orlando, FL)
• Natalia Vallejo - Cocina al Fondo (San Juan, PR)

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)

• Oscar Amador and Francesco Di Caudo - Anima by EDO (Las Vegas, NV)
• Kaoru Azeuchi - KAISEKI YUZU (Las Vegas, NV)
• Andrew Black - Grey Sweater (Oklahoma City, OK)
• Jeff Chanchaleune - Ma Der Lao Kitchen (Oklahoma City, OK)
• Justin Pioche - Pioche Food Group (Upper Fruitland (Doolkai), Navajo Nation, NM)

Best Chef: Texas

• Reyna Duong - Sandwich Hag (Dallas, TX)
• Benchawan Jabthong Painter - Street to Kitchen (Houston, TX)
• Emiliano Marentes - ELEMI (El Paso, TX)
• John Russ - Clementine (San Antonio, TX)
• Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland - Burnt Bean Co. (Seguin, TX)