Who won on food's big night? See the full list of James Beard Award 2022 winners
Film has the Academy Awards, music has the Grammys and food has the James Beard Awards.
Over the weekend, the food industry’s prestigious awards returned after a two-year hiatus. On Saturday and Sunday, media and leadership awards were handed out to authors, journalists and changemakers. The flagship ceremony honoring the Restaurant and Chef Award winners was held Monday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Mashama Bailey of the Grey in Savannah, Georgia was named Outstanding Chef and Chris Bianco of Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix was named Outstanding Restaurateur. Chai Pani in Asheville, North Carolina was named Outstanding Restaurant.
Owamni by the Sioux Chef in Minneapolis, owned by the chef Sean Sherman and Dana Thompson, was named Best New Restaurant. Edgar Rico of Nixta Taqueria in Austin, Texas was won the Emerging Chef award.
Author and activist Grace Young has been recognized as Humanitarian of the Year for her work to save America’s Chinatowns and Martin Yan, the "Yan Can Cook" TV chef and cookbook author, received the Lifetime Achievement award.
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Kwame Onwuachi, who was named 2019 Rising Star Chef, hosted this year’s ceremony. Presenters included Dominique Crenn, Marcus Samuelsson, Andrew Zimmern and many other industry stars.
“As we know, a James Beard Award can be transformative to a career or business, and as we move forward from the pandemic, this weekend was an important opportunity to lift up the independent restaurant community as a whole, doing amazing work across the country,” Onwuachi said.
The first James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards were given in 1991.
2022 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award winners:
Outstanding Restaurateur: Chris Bianco, Tratto, Pane Bianco, and Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
Outstanding Chef: Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, Georgia
Outstanding Restaurant: Chai Pani, Asheville, North Carolina
Emerging Chef: Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin, Texas
Best New Restaurant: Owamni, Minneapolis
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Warda Bouguettaya, Warda Pâtisserie, Detroit
Outstanding Baker: Don Guerra, Barrio Bread, Tucson, Arizona
Outstanding Hospitality: Cúrate, Asheville, North Carolina
Outstanding Wine Program: The Four Horsemen, New York
Outstanding Bar Program: Julep, Houston
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Best Chefs, by region
Best Chef California: Brandon Jew, Mister Jiu's, San Francisco
Best Chef Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH): Erick Williams, Virtue Restaurant & Bar, Chicago
Best Chef Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA): Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia
Best Chef Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI): Dane Baldwin, The Diplomat, Milwaukee
Best Chef Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY): Caroline Glover, Annette, Aurora, Colorado
Best Chef New York State: Chintan Pandya, Dhamaka, New York
Best Chef Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT): Nisachon Morgan, Saap, Randolph, Vermont
Best Chef Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA): Robynne Maii, Fête, Honolulu
Best Chef Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV): Ricky Moore, SALTBOX Seafood Joint, Durham, North Carolina
Best Chef South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR): Adam Evans, Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, Alabama
Best Chef Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK): Fernando Olea, Sazón, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Best Chef Texas: Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo, Austin, Texas
America’s Classics
This committee-chosen award is given to establishments in six of the 12 Restaurant and Chef Award regions with timeless appeal:
The Busy Bee Café in Atlanta. Owner: Tracy Gates
Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks, California. Owner: Christy Vega
Corinne’s Place in Camden, New Jersey. Owner: Corinne Bradley-Powers
Florence’s Restaurant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Owner: Florence Kemp
Solly’s Grille in Milwaukee. Owner: Glenn Fieber
Wo Hop in New York. Owners: Huang Family
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: James Beard Award 2022 winners list