On the morning of Wed. Jan 22, 2025, the James Beard Foundation announced the list of semifinalists for this year’s national and regional Restaurant and Chef Awards. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the prestigious James Beard Awards honors. These 2025 James Beard Awards recognize exceptional talent in the culinary industry across the country.
Of course, I am tickled pink to see North Carolina represented in so many different categories. I know many of these chefs and culinarians well and couldn’t be more excited for them. The culinary and hospitality industry in North Carolina is crushing it!
Take my best advice so far for 2025, and make plans to go enjoy at all of these semifinalist award-winning places now! Remember to make advance reservations, if you can. For many of these places, a seat or a reservation might be hard to get; and some don’t take reservations at all. Be Patient and Be Kind. I can assure you, the wait will be worth it. #TellThemHeidiSentYou
The 2025 James Beard Awards Semifinalist Categories for Restaurants and Chefs
This year, there are Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists in 25 distinct categories. 2025 brings with it a long overdue focus on beverages, with five new award categories. The new Beverage and Cocktail Awards are all national awards.
The 2025 beverage categories include Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, Outstanding Bar, Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.
Below, you will find the list of all of the North Carolina semifinalists. To see all of the semi finalists from across the country, visit the James Beard site, here.
National Honors
Thirteen of the 25 prestigious James Beard Award categories are national awards. There are literally hundreds of applications in each of these categories each year. The bar is set high, the standard is excellence; and the competition for semifinalist honors is tough. This year, among the 25 award categories there are 15 North Carolina semifinalists! I couldn’t be prouder!
For the Outstanding Restaurateur Award, congratulations go to Chef Scott Crawford of Crawford Hospitality, one of 20 semifinalists from across the country. Crawford’s restaurant group includes Crawford and Son, Brodeto, and Restaurant Jolie in Raleigh, NC and Crawford Brothers Steakhouse in Cary, NC. In addition, Scott also has a bar and cocktail lounge in Raleigh called Sous Terre.
2025 James Beard Awards Outstanding & Emerging Chef Honors
Chef William Dissen of The Market Place in Asheville, NC and Chef Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham, NC are two of the 19 semifinalists across the country in the category for Outstanding Chef.
In 2022, Ricky Moore won the regional James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast. And, just last year, William was a semifinalist for the 2024 Outstanding Restaurant award for The Market Place.
The James Beard Award Emerging Chef category is awarded to new chefs of any age who display exceptional talent, character, and leadership ability, and who are likely to make a significant impact in years to come. This year, Chef Bhavin Chhatwani of Tamasha Modern Indian in Raleigh, NC is one of the 10 semifinalists for this national award.
NC Semifinalists for Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Among the list of semifinalists for the 2025 Best New Restaurant in the country is Figulina in Raleigh, NC. While, Pastry Chef April Franqueza at The Dining Room at High Hampton in Cashiers, NC is one of the semifinalists for this year’s Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker honors.
Three Great Reasons to Drink Locally
North Carolina scored in three of the new beverage categories this year, with semifinalists across the state.
Leo’s House of Thirst in Asheville NC now has semifinalist status in the new to 2025 James Beard Awards category of Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.
In Durham, the little hidden gem of a bar, or “Bollywood Speakeasy”, as they call it, tucked away at Cheeni restaurant, is The Bar Beej , a 2025 semifinalist for Best New Bar.
Chef Preeti Waas, owner at Cheeni is a two-time James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef – in 2023 and 2024. Now, daughter Amy Waas is following in her mom’s footsteps. Amy is taking the same great traditional Indian flavors in the cuisine featured at Cheeni and shaking and stirring them into an ever-changing menu of Indian-inspired craft cocktails.
And, in Charlotte, NC well-known Mixologist Colleen Hughes at Supperland, the flagship restaurant, bar and speakeasy of the Tonidandel-Brown restaurant group. Colleen is the 2021 NCRLA Chef Showdown Mixologist of the Year. And, with this announcement is now, a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.
2025 James Beard Awards for Best Chef
The James Beard Awards for Best Chef are divided into regions across the country. North Carolina falls into the “Best Chef: Southeast” group, which includes Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Again, proud to see so many North Carolina names on this list of Best Chef semifinalists. About one-third of the 20 semifinalists recognized here are from the Old North State! Wow!
I’d say its definitely time for a road trip!
Cheers and Congratulations all around to:
- Chef Sam Diminich of Restaurant Constance in Charlotte, NC
- Chefs Sunny Gerhart and Lauren Krall Ivey of Olivero in Wilmington, NC
- Chef Silver Iocovozzi of Neng Jr.’s in Asheville, NC
- Chef Chayil Johnson of Community Matters Cafe in Charlotte, NC
- Pitmaster Christopher Prieto of Prime Barbecue in Knightdale, NC
- Chef Ashleigh Shanti, Good Hot Fish, Asheville, NC
What’s Next…
This story continues to develop. The field here will narrow in early spring, when the 2025 nominees are announced on April 2, 2025. Then, the winners of this year’s coveted medallions and awards – an honor equivalent to the Oscars or the Emmy’s for the Hospitality Industry – will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony. The black tie ceremony takes place on Monday, June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
I’ll keep you posted. Meantime, my plan is to travel across the state and eat and drink my way through the list. I suggest you do the same. Enjoy every outstanding moment. Then, come back here and let me know your faves in the comment section below.
The mission of the James Beard Awards® is to recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive.