The list of Philly candidates for this year’s James Beard Awards has been narrowed down to a single nominee: Jesse Ito of Royal Sushi and Izakaya, up for Outstanding Chef: Mid-Atlantic.
Announced this morning by the James Beard Foundation, finalists for the awards were selected from a long list that had included 10 Philadelphia-area chefs and restaurants. The result marks a sharp turn from last year’s awards, which featured six local finalists and three eventual winners.
This year’s nomination is Ito’s seventh, having last been up for the same title in 2023.
Despite a narrowed down list, Philly has already secured a few wins in this year’s awards. Beyond the list of finalists, honorees for the foundation’s Leadership Awards were also named today; among them Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, whose Down North Pizza in Strawberry Mansion exclusively hires formerly incarcerated individuals, and Christa Barfield, founder and CEO of FarmerJawn which, at 128 acres, is the largest Black-woman owned regenerative organic produce farm in the US.
Additionally, long-running Chinatown spot Vietnam Restaurant, operated by Benny Lai who took over when his parents retired in 1989, earned an America’s Classics award in late February. The award is granted by the foundation to restaurants that have been open for longer than 10 years and seen to consistently “serve quality food, have timeless appeal, and reflect the character of their communities.”
The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, June 10 in Chicago.
