Fil-Am named James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: California
Tara Monsod has been named James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: California. Photo from tara.monsod/Instagram
SAN DIEGO – Filipino American chef Tara Monsod was among the culinary artisans nominated Wednesday for a coveted James Beard Award for top chef in California.
Monsod, the executive chef of Animae steakhouse in downtown San Diego and Le Coq in La Jolla, is one of five nominees for the title of Best Chef: California by the James Beard Foundation, whose awards are considered the pinnacle of culinary achievement.
The nomination marks Monsod’s second consecutive year in the prestigious finals.
“Monsod’s nomination comes as no surprise to those familiar with her innovative approach to Asian diasporic cuisine, particularly her integration of Filipino flavors at Animae, an upscale wagyu steakhouse,” according to a report by SanDiegoVille.
“Dishes like her short rib kare kare have earned her widespread acclaim, contributing to Animae’s Michelin Plate recognition in the 2024 guide.”
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Also nominated were Daniel Castillo of Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano, Jon Yao of Kato in Los Angeles, Richard Lee of Saison in San Francisco and Kosuke Tada of Mijoté, also in San Francisco.
Gusto Bread in Long Beach was nominated for outstanding bakery. It will compete with Atelier Ortega in Wyoming, JinJu Patisserie in Oregon, Starship Bagel in Texas and Super Secret Ice Cream in New Hampshire.
Tobin Shea of Redbird in Los Angeles was nominated for the prize of outstanding professional in cocktail service, a new category added by the foundation to this year’s honors. Strong Water in Anaheim earned a nod for outstanding wine and other beverages program.
Winners of the coveted honors will be announced June 16 at a gala event in Chicago.
Here is a complete list of nominees:
Outstanding Restaurateur
— Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, Atomic Workshop (The Anchovy
Bar, State Bird Provisions, and The Progress), San Francisco, CA
— Sue Chin and Jason Chin, Good Salt Restaurant Group (Seito Sushi,
Reyes Mezcaleria, The Osprey, and others), Orlando, FL
— Scott Drewno and Danny Lee, The Fried Rice Collective (Anju, Chiko,
and I Egg You), Washington, D.C.
— Allison Gibson and Cara Tobin, Honey Road and Gray Jay, Burlington, VT
— Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, Frenchette, Le Veau d’Or, and Le Rock,
New York, NY
Outstanding Chef presented by Hilton
— Lisa Becklund, FarmBar, Tulsa, OK
— Gabriel Kreuther, Gabriel Kreuther, New York, NY
— Josh Niernberg, Bin 707, Grand Junction, CO
— Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, MA
— Jungsik Yim, Jungsik, New York, NY
Outstanding Restaurant presented by Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water
— Coquine, Portland, OR
— Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO
— Galit, Chicago, IL
— Nonesuch, Oklahoma City, OK
— Oberlin, Providence, RI
Emerging Chef presented by S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
— Kaitlin Guerin, Lagniappe Bakehouse, New Orleans, LA
— Phila Lorn, Mawn, Philadelphia, PA
— Nikhil Naiker, NIMKI, Providence, RI
— Jane Sacro Chatham, Vicia, St. Louis, MO
— RJ Yoakum, Georgie, Dallas, TX
Best New Restaurant
— Alma Fonda Fina, Denver, CO
— Atoma, Seattle, WA
— Bûcheron, Minneapolis, MN
— Ema, Houston, TX
— Fet-Fisk, Pittsburgh, PA
— Mabo, Dallas, TX
— Mita, Washington, D.C.
— Ômo by Jônt, Winter Park, FL
— Penny, New York, NY
— The Union, Helena, MT
Outstanding Bakery
— Atelier Ortega, Jackson Hole, WY
— Gusto Bread, Long Beach, CA
— JinJu Patisserie, Portland, OR
— Starship Bagel, Dallas and Lewisville, TX
— Super Secret Ice Cream, Bethlehem, NH
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
— Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit, Washington, D.C.
— Cat Cox, Country Bird Bakery, Tulsa, OK
— April Franqueza, The Dining Room at High Hampton, Cashiers, NC
— Crystal Kass, Valentine, Phoenix, AZ
— Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos, Poulette Bakeshop, Parker, CO
Outstanding Hospitality presented by American Airlines
— Archipelago, Seattle, WA
— Aria, Atlanta, GA
— Atomix, New York, NY
— Harbor House Inn, Elk, CA
— Mixtli, San Antonio, TX
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
— Bar Brava, Minneapolis, MN
— Campo at Los Poblanos, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM
— Charleston, Baltimore, MD
— MARCH, Houston, TX
— Strong Water, Anaheim, CA
Outstanding Bar
— Kumiko, Chicago, IL
— Scotch Lodge, Portland, OR
— The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia, PA
— Water Witch, Salt Lake City, UT
— Wolf Tree, White River Junction, VT
Best New Bar
— Agency, Milwaukee, WI
— Bar Colette, Dallas, TX
— Identidad Cocktail Bar, San Juan, PR
— Merai, Brookline, MA
— ViceVersa, Miami, FL
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
— Jacob Brown, Lazy Bear, San Francisco, CA
— Jose Medina Camacho, Adiõs, Birmingham, AL
— Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie’s, Austin, TX
— Cassandra Felix, Daniel, New York, NY
— Cristie Norman, Delilah, Las Vegas, NV
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
— McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright, Yacht Club, Denver, CO
— Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez, Superbueno, New York, NY
— Dave Newman, Pint + Jigger, Honolulu, HI
— Tobin Shea, Redbird, Los Angeles, CA
— Mike Stankovich, Longfellow, Cincinnati, OH
Best Chefs presented by Capital One (by region)
Best Chef: California
— Daniel Castillo, Heritage Barbecue, San Juan Capistrano, CA
— Richard Lee, Saison, San Francisco, CA
— Tara Monsod, ANIMAE, San Diego, CA
— Kosuke Tada, Mijoté, San Francisco, CA
— Jon Yao, Kato, Los Angeles, CA
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
— Jennifer Blakeslee and Eric Patterson, The Cooks’ House, Traverse
City, MI
— Thai Dang, HaiSous, Chicago, IL
— David Jackman, Wildweed, Cincinnati, OH
— Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower, Maxwells Trading, Chicago, IL
— Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago, IL
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
— Henji Cheung, Queen’s English, Washington, D.C.
— Carlos Delgado, Causa and Amazonia, Washington, D.C.
— Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi & Izakaya, Philadelphia, PA
— Dan Richer, Razza, Jersey City, NJ
— Amanda Shulman, Her Place Supper Club, Philadelphia, PA
Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
— Shigeyuki Furukawa, Kado no Mise, Minneapolis, MN
— Diane Moua, Diane’s Place, Minneapolis, MN
— Loryn Nalic, Balkan Treat Box, Webster Groves, MO
— Karyn Tomlinson, Myriel, St. Paul, MN
— David Utterback, Ota and Yoshitomo, Omaha, NE
Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
— Joshua Adams, Campione, Livingston, MT
— Salvador Alamilla, Amano, Caldwell, ID
— Brandon Cunningham, The Social Haus, Greenough, MT
— David Wells, The Tasting Room at Chico Hot Springs Resort & Day
Spa, Pray, MT
— Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton, Denver, CO
Best Chef: New York State
— Nasim Alikhani, Sofreh, Brooklyn, NY
— Ryan Fernandez, Southern Junction Barbecue, Buffalo, NY
— Eiji Ichimura, Sushi Ichimura, New York, NY
— Atsushi Kono, Kono, New York, NY
— Vijay Kumar, Semma, New York, NY
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
— Avery Buck, May Day, Burlington, VT
— Sky Haneul Kim, Gift Horse, Providence, RI
— Brian Lewis, The Cottage, Westport, CT
— Erin Miller, Urban Hearth, Cambridge, MA
— Derek Wagner, Nicks on Broadway, Providence, RI
Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
— Jay Blackinton, Houlme, Orcas Island, WA
— Joshua Dorcak, MÄS, Ashland, OR
— Ryan Roadhouse, Nodoguro, Portland, OR
— Beau Schooler, In Bocca Al Lupo, Juneau, AK
— Timothy Wastell, Antica Terra, Amity, OR
Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
— Nando Chang, Itamae AO, Miami, FL
— Matthew Cooper, Conifer, Bentonville, AR
— Kevin Garcia, La Faena AgroCocina, Guaynabo, PR
— Angel David Moreno Zayas, El Gallo Pinto, Guayama, PR
— Rafael Rios, Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico, Bentonville, AR
Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
— Noam Bilitzer, MeeshMeesh Mediterranean, Louisville, KY
— Sara Bradley, freight house, Paducah, KY
— Jake Howell, Peninsula, Nashville, TN
— Silver Iocovozzi, Neng Jr.’s, Asheville, NC
— Robbie Robinson, City Limits Barbeque, West Columbia, SC
Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)
— Olivier Bouzerand, Fait Maison, Edmond, OK
— Yotaka Martin, Lom Wong, Phoenix, AZ
— Sarah Thompson, Casa Playa, Las Vegas, NV
— Eleazar Villanueva, Restaurant de Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas, NV
— Zack Walters, Sedalia’s Oyster & Seafood, Oklahoma City, OK
Best Chef: Texas
— Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast, Spring, TX
— Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó, Houston, TX
— Emil Oliva, Leche de Tigre, San Antonio, TX
— Regino Rojas, Purépecha, Dallas, TX
— Michael Anthony Serva, Bordo, Marfa, TX
Achievement Awards
Impact Awards
The 2025 Impact Award honorees are:
— Angie Craig, U.S. Representative (MN-2); Minority Leader, House
Committee on Agriculture
— Brandon Edwin Chrostowski, CEO, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute
— Anthony Edwards Jr., CEO and Co-Founder, EatOkra
— Seanicaa Edwards Herron, Founder and Executive Director, Freedmen
Heirs Foundation
— Dune Lankard, President and Founder, Native Conservancy
Humanitarian of the Year Award
— The 2024 Humanitarian of the Year Award honoree is Chad Houser,
founder and CEO of Café Momentum, a Dallas-based nonprofit restaurant with
multiple locations nationwide dedicated to equipping justice-involved teens
aged 15-19 with skills, education, and employment opportunities in the culinary
industry.
Lifetime Achievement Award
— The 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree is esteemed author,
culinary journalist, and activist Toni Tipton-Martin.
(With CNS report)
