The annual James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef awards have been announced, celebrate excellence across a range of experiences, from fine-dining establishments to casual gems, and emerging talents to established luminaries, while supporting and encouraging a more sustainable industry.
Established in 1990, with the first ceremony taking place in 1991, the Restaurant and Chef Awards is one of five separate recognition programs for the Awards. The 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards winners are recognised across 22 categories, including Outstanding Restaurant, Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Restauranteur, Best New Restaurant and many others.
One of the notable winners from this year's collection was New Orleans-based Dakar which took the Best New Restaurant award. Dakar celebrates Senegalese cuisine with a hugely popular tasting menu having turned heads since its opening last year. West African cuisine is one identified within our cuisines framework last year as one to watch globally, so to see Dakar taking this award is an exciting step for Senegalese cuisine.
tfp trendhub subscribers can read the full cuisines framework report and predictions here.
Other notable winners from the awards include:
- Langbaan, Portland, as this year's Outstanding Restaurant. This intimate 24-seat Thai restaurant offers a menu that's based on seasonal availability of ingredients and the chefs' creative inspirations.
- Chef Michael Rafidi of Albi, Washington D.C. who was awarded Best Chef in recognition of his high culinary standards and positive contribution to the wider community. Rafidi is the chef and owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant, and takes inspiration from his family's roots in Ramallah, Palestine, when curating his menus.
- Chef Masako Morishita, of Perry's restaurant in Washington D.C., as Emerging Chef. Morishita offers her umami-forward Japanese breakfast service at the 40-year-old establishment with the clay-pot cooked rice bowls proving a huge hit.
Former tfp Trend Summit speaker Josh Niland was also awarded in the best book in the Restaurant & Professional category for his book Fish Butchery: Mastering The Catch, Cut, And Craft.
The full list of all winners can be found on the James Beard Foundation website here.
Image credit - © Eliesa Johnson / Courtesy of the James Beard Foundation.