3 Orlando restaurants among the 2024 James Beard Award semifinalists
The James Beard Foundation announced its 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists today, and the Orlando culinary community has several horses in this year’s race to the June ceremony in Chicago.
Chefs Jennifer Bañagale and Mark Berdin of Kadence and chef Henry Moso of Kabooki Sushi were nominated in the category of Best Chef: South and Kaya, led by co-owners general manager Jamilyn Salonga Bailey and chef Lordfer Lalicon, are in the running for Best New Restaurant.
Filipino spaghetti is a sweet and savory comfort-food staple
Bailey, whose exhilaration may have reversed the effects of the acupuncture session she was in when her silenced phone began blowing up, was as emotional as her partner upon learning of the nod.
“I’m excited. Thankful. Humbled. Proud of our team,” she said. “You work so hard to open a restaurant … so this is a real reminder that we’re taking the right steps, that we’re on the right path, and we’re just going to keep pushing forward.”
It’s no less thrilling for Moso, the veteran among this year’s crop of nominees.
“It’s as exciting as the first time,” says Moso, whose Kabooki empire has been expanding of late. The Sand Lake venue has grown exponentially, as has his team, which now sits at 87. “We have a lot of new faces, new people on our journey, and when this happens, it makes them feel honored and energized and inspired. It’s super motivating.”
It also speaks to Orlando’s growing credibility as a culinary destination, say the chefs. For Lalicon, in particular, who worked side-by-side with then-partners Berdin and Bañagale to build the now Michelin-starred Kadence, James Beard Foundation recognition speaks volumes.
“The city gets a lot of heat for just being Orlando, yet it continues to grow. We’re getting nods for so many different honors, and eventually, we will get to a point where the talent here can’t be denied. It’s very cool to be a part of it.”
Collaborations with other local chefs and meticulously sourced products from farmers and other artisans say Kaya’s owners, are likely what set them apart in a fiercely qualified field of potential semifinalists.
“It’s the amount of care and attention that we put into everything we do while simultaneously allowing guests to feel like they’re at home,” says Bailey. “That comes through in the tasting menu and the fine details of our partnerships with local purveyors as much as it does in our willingness to cut loose and serve spaghetti and sing karaoke.”
Berdin and Bañagale were on a cruise when they got word but were similarly caught off guard by the news.
“Never in a million years would we have thought of getting nominated for a James Beard Award,” Berdin wrote in a text, wondering what may have landed them on the shortlist. “I’d like to think that it’s my honed dancing skills, but I really don’t know,” he joked while reflecting on the routine he and his wife have established as Kadence has grown. “[We’re] improving what we do each day, so maybe that’s it. Like a man and his rock, hammering away until it splits.”
If there’s a “box” to be ticked, Lalicon speculates, it might be community-focused.
“A Filipino restaurant is already pretty unique,” he notes. “But nothing here is done outside our values. We’re not profit-focused; we’re food- and people-focused, and I think that’s what put us on the stage for national recognition.”
How will they celebrate? By getting back to work, says Lalicon.
“And hopefully with a packed house tonight!” says Bailey.
Finalists will be announced April 3. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Chicago on June 10.
More information: JamesBeard.org
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