Each year restaurants and bars across the country are set abuzz when the James Beard Foundation announces the top chefs, restaurateurs and beverage professionals in the running for its coveted awards. The semifinalists, announced today, are the first announcement in a string of them, and Los Angeles-area restaurants and individuals racked up two dozen nods.
Of these semifinalists, the nominees will be announced March 31, while the winners will be announced and awarded at a June 15 ceremony held at Chicago’s Lyric Opera.
Now in its 40th year, the foundation was established in honor of the eponymous chef who began his own culinary school, authored numerous cookbooks and proselytized cooking with whole foods. The awards, which were first given in 1991, tend to influence business for restaurants — even for those who don’t proceed to the finalists round. According to the foundation, a 2025 survey revealed that 96% of semifinalists reported increased business after the announcements.
For some, it marks recognition in a new era. Kwang Uh received his first semifinalist nod in 2016, when his fermentation-forward Korean restaurant Baroo was an order-at-the-counter spot next to a 7-Eleven in East Hollywood, in the running for the best new restaurant in the state Today, he’s earned his second semifinalist honor for best chef in California for his work in a new, more formal Baroo — widely lauded for its creativity and modern Korean tasting menu. It was the L.A. Times’ 2024 Restaurant of the Year, and regularly appears on The Times’ list of 101 Best Restaurants in L.A.
Uh learned the news in a call from his wife, Baroo co-owner Mina Park, as he headed to their Arts District restaurant to prepare for the night’s dinner service.
“I’m very grateful,” he said. “At the same time, it’s this question like, ‘Am I really worth it?’ But I’m very thankful.”
The semifinalist nomination came as a surprise to Uh, as he said many people are responsible for the restaurant’s success, including his staff, Park, the customers, his family and other chefs, all of whom inspire him.
L.A.-area chefs have won this category for the last three years: Jon Yao of Kato in 2025, Maynard Llera of Kuya Lord in 2024, and Justin Pichetrungsi of Anajak Thai Cuisine in 2023.
This year’s category of best chef in California includes, in addition to Uh: Angelenos Dave Beran of Seline and Pasjoli; Brian Dunsmoor of Dunsmoor; Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer of Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie; Andrew and Michelle Muñoz of Moo’s Craft Barbecue; and Charles Namba of Camélia, Ototo and Tsubaki.
Beyond L.A., others in the running are Eric Bost of Carlsbad’s Lilo, Jeune et Jolie, Campfire and Wildland; Tara Monsod of San Diego’s Animae and Le Coq; Viet Nguyen of Fountain Valley’s Nep Cafe and Kei Concepts restaurant group; Daisy Ryan of Los Alamos’ Bell’s and Companion Hospitality group; Emma Lipp and Stephanie Reagor of Sonoma’s Valley Bar & Bottle and Valley Swim Club; Eric Alexander and Courtney McDonald of Auburn’s Restaurant Josephine and Four Tines Farm; Zareen Khan of Zareen’s in Palo Alto, Redwood City and Mountain View; Fik and Reka Saleh of Alameda’s Fikscue Craft BBQ; Oakland’s Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu of Sun Moon Studio and Geoff Davis of Burdell; and in San Francisco, Kim Alter of Nightbird; Harrison Cheney of Sons & Daughters; Brandon Rice of Ernest; and Kosuke Tada of Mijoté.
When Michelle Muñoz learned the news, she screamed so loud that her husband — and Moo’s Craft Barbecue co-owner — thought something was wrong.
The husband-and-wife team were named semifinalists in the category in 2023, but never imagined they might find themselves considered again.
“When you don’t expect it and then you get the news, it just feels so good,” she said, adding, “It reminds us that staying focused and grounded over time really matters. This is a huge win, not just for Andrew and myself, but for our entire staff and for the community and everyone that continues to show up for us. It’s hard to talk about it without getting emotional.”
Two L.A. chefs are also contenders for the national outstanding chef category: Holbox and Chichen Itza’s Gilberto Cetina and n/naka and n/soto’s Niki Nakayama. Michael Tusk,of San Francisco’s Quince, is also a semifinalist. Semifinalists and nominees in this category not only set high culinary standards, but serve as positive examples in the industry as well.
For the category of outstanding restaurant, only one Los Angeles restaurant is in the running: Chad Colby’s Italian destination Antico Nuovo, in Larchmont. San Francisco’s Foreign Cinema is the state’s only other semifinalist.
And in the category of emerging chef, which spotlights chefs of “exceptional talent, character, and leadership ability, and who [are] likely to make a significant impact in years to come,” two L.A.-area names are recognized: Fátima Juárez of Historic South-Central’s Komal, and José Olmedo Carles Rojas of Venice’s Si! Mon. Farther north Steve Joo, of Oakland’s Joodooboo, is also a contender.
L.A. is also the home of two contenders in the best new restaurant category: modern-Korean tasting menu Ki, in Little Tokyo, and California izakaya RVR in Venice. The Happy Crane, in San Francisco, is California’s only other semifinalist.
The outstanding restaurateur category recognizes those who use their business “as a vehicle for building community, demonstrate[s] creativity in entrepreneurship, and integrity.” Holly Fox and Adam Weisblatt of Last Word Hospitality — which operates L.A.’s Found Oyster, Rasarumah, Queen’s and Barra Santos, plus Yucca Valley’s the Copper Room and Pioneertown’s Red Dog Saloon — are the only Southern Californians represented. In the Bay Area Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar of Ettan, Copra and Eylan are semifinalists, as are Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of Atomic Workshop.
Long Beach’s Gusto Bread, an outstanding-bakery nominee for the last two years, is a semifinalist in the category — and the only California representative this year.
Hannah Ziskin of Echo Park’s Quarter Sheets is the only Southern California baker in the category of outstanding pastry chef or baker. In Oakland, Tarts de Feybesse’s Monique and Paul Feybesse are also in the running.
Family-run Middle Eastern restaurant Ammatolí in Long Beach is a semifinalist for outstanding hospitality, as is three-Michelin-starred seafood tasting menu restaurant Providence in Hollywood. San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib is the state’s only other contender.
Kato, in the Arts District, is the only Southern California restaurant or bar for outstanding wine and other beverages program, but just up the coast, in Montecito, is Caruso’s, and farther north is San Francisco’s the Progress.
No L.A.-area bars are in the running this year for the best bar category, though San Diego’s Realm of the 52 Remedies and San Francisco’s Smuggler’s Cove are.
Sherman Oaks’ Daisy Margarita Bar, however, is up for best new bar, as is San Francisco’s the Valley Club.
Jason Lee, of West Hollywood’s Darling, is the only Southern Californian to be recognized as an outstanding professional in cocktail service; San Francisco’s Kevin Diedrich, of Pacific Cocktail Haven, is the only other semifinalist in the state.
The category of outstanding professional in beverage service can recognize much more than alcohol, and L.A.’s only contender is proof: Jack Benchakul, of Chinatown coffee shop Endorffeine, received his first James Beard semifinalist nod this year. California’s only other semifinalists can be found in restaurants: Paul Einbund of San Francisco’s the Morris, and Derek Stevenson of Calistoga’s Auro.
Find the full list of 2026 James Beard Foundation Award semifinalists here.
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