The uncertainties of the country’s shifting immigration landscape hung heavy over the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards at the Lyric Opera in Chicago Monday evening, where Japanese dining bar Kumiko and chef Noah Sandoval of Oriole were announced as winners.
Julia Momosé, who accepted the Outstanding Bar award for Kumiko, spoke of her Japanese heritage, while a representative for Sandoval, who won in the Best Chef: Great Lakes category but was unable to attend, read his pre-prepared comments, which ended with “(expletive) ICE,” a phrase that multiple winners repeated throughout the evening.
As celebrity chefs and TV personalities presented the most prestigious awards in the U.S. restaurant industry, there were messages of hope. Many winners spoke of their immigrant roots and the power of embracing cultures of all kinds. Gov. JB Pritzker also offered remarks.
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“Across this nation, we need to celebrate the rich tradition of diversity,” Pritzker said. “At this moment, especially in the world, it seems that we need that togetherness more than ever before.”
Momosé, creative director and mixologist of Kumiko in the West Loop, took a deep breath at the podium and welcomed others to join her in taking in the moment.
“I don’t feel ready in a lot of ways because there’s so much work to be done, but I am so grateful,” she said while accepting the award.
Momosé, who is half Japanese, said she’s struggled over the years with belonging, sometimes feeling like an outsider despite having U.S. citizenship. She was wearing a dress inspired by her Japanese heritage, which was custom-made in Kyoto out of an old kimono.
“I want to serve Japanese food, but as a mixed person,” she said. “When thinking about every place I’ve worked, there have been immigrants there, and I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I deserve to call myself an immigrant because I have U.S. citizenship, but I don’t feel American, because in my heart, I’m Japanese — but maybe I’m not Japanese because I don’t look it on the outside.”
Momosé, who has recently taken over the kitchen side of Kumiko serving Japanese dishes, said she’s finally embraced her perspective. She said she shares the win with her staff of 18 and credited the contributions of everyone from the chef de cuisine, service team members, dishwashers, as well as former team members.
Momosé won a James Beard Media Award in 2022 for her book “The Way of the Cocktail,” the same year Kumiko landed a spot on The World’s 50 Best Bars list.
The Best Chef: Great Lakes category, which covers Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, has been won by Chicago chefs more than any other city. In 2022 and 2023, Erick Williams of Virtue and Tim Flores and Genie Kwon of Kasama took home the win in the category for the Windy City, respectively, but in 2024, Hajime Sato of Sozai in Clawson, Michigan, which has since closed, won the category.
The Great Lakes category was presented by Chicago celebrity chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless of various restaurants, including Frontera Grill and Topolobampo.
“In spite of all the challenges, the Chicago chef community, my community, has been dedicated to serving our guests and to advocating for what is right,” Bayless said.
Sandoval, Oriole’s executive chef and owner, added his first James Beard win to a lengthy list of achievements. Oriole, which opened in 2016, is one of only two restaurants in the city to have two Michelin stars. It won the 2022 Jean Banchet Restaurant of the Year Award, while Sandoval was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 2017.
Sandoval told the Tribune on a phone call the day after the ceremony that he didn’t attend due to struggles with alcoholism.
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“I have nothing to hide,” he said. “I’m going to get in trouble for saying this but awards don’t mean s— to me.”
Instead, he said it was more important to him that his staff were paid and happy. It was a moment where, inspired by the punk ethos of bands such as Fugazi, he hoped to give more than take. Sandoval also called on powerful culinary organizations such as the Michelin Guide and the Beard Foundation to help improve the industry.
“I want them to nurture the culture and make everything healthy,” he said.
Sandoval unequivocally stood by his comment calling out ICE, saying he embraced the moment to use a platform to get out what he believed was the most critical message.
“That’s the most important thing that’s happening,” Sandoval said. “They are taking and ripping apart families.”
Other Chicago chefs nominated in the Best Chef: Great Lakes category were Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower of Maxwells Trading and Thai Dang of Hai Sous.
Michelin-starred Galit, located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, was also in contention for one of the most sought-after accolades, but the win for Outstanding Restaurant went to Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado.
However, Chicago closed out the 2025 James Beard awards with one more win than last year, when Lula Cafe was the sole winner from Chicago, recognized in the Outstanding Hospitality category.
The ceremony also acknowledged this year’s America’s Classic winners, who were announced in February. The honorees included the oldest Black-owned barbecue restaurant in Chicago, Lem’s Bar-B-Q.
This year commemorates the 35th anniversary of the awards, which have been held in Chicago since 2015. The awards are slated to be held in Chicago through 2027, a move that was announced in 2018. There hasn’t been official word on whether it will stay in the city beyond 2027.
On the red carpet before the awards ceremony began, Kristen Reynolds, the new president and CEO of Choose Chicago, made it loud and clear: Chicago has every intention of keeping the coveted awards in the city.
“We are definitely keeping the James Beard Awards beyond 2027,” Reynolds said while walking the star-studded red carpet. “I mean, we are the host of ‘The Bear!’ We have to have the James Beard Awards in Chicago, everybody relates Chicago with cuisine and world-class dining, so it’s a perfect location.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will do everything in his power to prioritize keeping the award show in Chicago as he walked the red carpet.
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“I know they can go anywhere else in the world, but I think it’s only fitting here, particularly a city that a black Haitian immigrant and a Potawatomi woman established — a city of immigrants from around the world have found refuge here in Chicago. The migration from the South, like my family, the 77 unique neighborhoods, it really is the spices and the different seasonings that are not only on the plates across restaurants in Chicago, but it really reflects the beauty of our city as a whole,” Johnson said.
At the Union Station reception following the ceremony, several Chicago chefs served up bites, including 2025 nominee Thai Dang of HaiSous, Sandra Holl of Floriole, Jeffrey Steelman of Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi, Kevin Kelly and Kevin Cavanaugh of J&L Catering, and Jenner Tomaska of Esmé.
The full list of 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award winners
Emerging Chef: Phila Lorn of Mawn in Philadelphia
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Cat Cox of Country Bird Bakery in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Outstanding Bakery: JinJu Patisserie in Portland
Best New Bar: Identitad Cocktail Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service: Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez of Superbueno in New York City
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program: Charleston in Baltimore
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service: Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie’s in Austin, Texas
Outstanding Bar: Kumiko in Chicago
Humanitarian of the Year Award: Chad Houser of Cafe Momentum in Dallas
Best Chef: California: Jon Yao of Kato Los Angeles
Best Chef: Mountain: Salvador Alamilla of Amano in Caldwell, Idaho
Best Chef: South: Nando Chang of Itamae AO in Miami
Best Chef: Texas: Thomas Bille of Belly of the Beast in Spring, Texas
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic: Carlos Delgado of Causa and Amazonia in Washington, D.C.
Best Chef: New York State: Vijay Kumar of Semma in New York City
America’s Classics: Lem’s Bar-B-Q in Chicago; The Pioneer Saloon in Ketchum, Idaho; Sullivan’s Castle Island in Boston; Lucky Wishbone in Anchorage, Alaska; Dooky Chase in New Orleans; and Gaido’s in Galveston, Texas
Best Chef: Southwest: Yotaka Martin of Lom Wong in Phoenix
Best Chef: Great Lakes: Noah Sandoval of Oriole in Chicago
Impact Awards: Angie Craig, U.S. representative; Brandon Edwin Chrostowski, CEO of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute; Anthony Edwards Jr., CEO and co-founder of EatOkra Entrepreneur; Seanicaa Edwards Herron, founder and executive director of Freedmen Heirs Foundation; and Dune Lankard, president and founder of Native Conservancy
Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific: Timothy Wastell of Antica Terra in Amity, Oregon
Best Chef: Northeast: Sky Haneul Kim of Gift Horse in Providence, Rhode Island
Best Chef: Midwest: Karyn Tomlinson, Myriel, St. Paul, Minnesota
Best Chef: Southeast: Jake Howell of Peninsula in Nashville
Best New Restaurant: Bûcheron in Minneapolis
Lifetime Achievement Award: Toni Tipton-Martin
Outstanding Hospitality: Atomix in New York City
Outstanding Restaurateur: Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr of Frenchette, Le Veau d’Or and Le Rock in New York City
Outstanding Restaurant: Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado
Outstanding Chef: Jungsik Yim of Jungsik in New York City