Philadelphia has four James Beard Award nominees for 2025
Mawn's Phila Lorn was nominated for Emerging Chef. Also named were Jesse Ito of Royal Sushi and Amanda Shulman of Her Place, both for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic, and the Lovers Bar for Outstanding Bar.
Three Philadelphia chefs and one of the city’s most renowned bars have been nominated in major categories for the 2025 James Beard Awards, considered the most prestigious prizes in the American restaurant world.
The showing is a marked turnaround from last year, when Philadelphia fielded only one finalist, Jesse Ito of South Philadelphia’s Royal Sushi & Izakaya. Ito, who lost to Harley Peet of Bas Rouge, is a finalist again for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic — his eighth time as a finalist.
Phila Lorn, chef of the hit South Philadelphia noodle shop Mawn, is among the finalists for Emerging Chef, which recognizes chefs who are early in their careers. Lorn, 38, and his wife/business partner, Rachel, opened Mawn in 2023.
The 13-seat Lovers Bar at Center City’s Friday Saturday Sunday, open for walk-ins only, made the cutoff for Outstanding Bar. Friday Saturday Sunday was the Outstanding Restaurant in 2023.
Ito and Amanda Shulman of Center City’s Her Place Supper Club are among the five people nominated for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic, which covers Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Two of Philly’s finalists are planning new restaurants this summer. The Lorns are working up a seafood bar called Sao at 1710 E. Passyunk Ave., while Ito is building an izakaya called dancerobot at 1710 Sansom St. (The street numbers are coincidental.)
The Beard awards ceremony will be at Chicago’s Lyric Opera on June 16.
“First thing Imma do in Chicago is get a hot dog,” said Lorn, a South Philadelphian whose mother named him after his family’s adopted city. “Man, if I can take this home, it’s for all of us: late-night finishing on the dish pit, the deep-fryer scrubber, talking people off ledges when we often think of jumping ourselves. I’ll take it if it’s for that team.”
Philadelphia was well-represented among the semifinalists announced in January. Six chefs — Anthony Andiario of West Chester’s Andiario, Carlos Aparicio of South Philadelphia’s El Chingón, Antimo DiMeo of Wilmington’s Bardea, and Yun Fuentes of Center City’s Bolo, in addition to Shulman and Ito — were among the 20 who had made the initial Mid-Atlantic list.
Other semifinalists included Greg Vernick for Outstanding Chef for his work at Vernick Fish in the Comcast Technology Center. He won in 2017 for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic at Vernick Food & Drink, his flagship.
Kalaya, chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon’s Thai destination in Fishtown/Kensington, was a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant. Suntaranon won in 2023 for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic.
Little Fish, chef Alex Yoon’s 16-seat seafood destination in Bella Vista, was a semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality.
Càphê Roasters, the Vietnamese specialty coffee roastery in Kensington fronted by Thu Pham, was a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.
Kampar Kongsi, the Malaysian bar at Ange Branca’s Kampar in Bella Vista (now idled by fire), was a semifinalist for Outstanding New Bar, a new category.
Abigail Dahan of Society Hill’s luxe restaurant Provenance was up for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.
Machine Shop, Emily Riddell’s boulangerie at the Bok Building in South Philadelphia, was a semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery. Riddell made the semifinals in 2023 in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category.