More than 10 Georgia restaurants, chefs, bars and beverage professionals have been named 2025 James Beard Award semifinalists.
They include:
Outstanding Restaurant:
Kimball House, Decatur
Best New Restaurant
Casa Balam, Decatur
Outstanding Hospitality
Aria, Atlanta
Best Chef: Southeast
Brandon Carter and Joseph Harrison, Common Thread, Savannah
Rod Lassiter and Parnass Savang, Talat Market, Atlanta
Bruce Logue, BoccaLupo, Atlanta
Brian So, Spring, Marietta
Fu Li Zhang, LanZhou Ramen, Doraville
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Lucian Books and Wine, Atlanta
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service (new category)
Kursten Berry, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, Atlanta
Outstanding Bar
Lone Wolf Lounge, Savannah
Best New Bar (new category)
Marietta Proper, Marietta
Credit: Thomas Swofford
Credit: Thomas Swofford
First-time semifinalists include Casa Balam; Carter and Harrison of Common Thread; Logue of BoccaLupo; Zhang of LanZhou Ramen; Berry of Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours; Lone Wolf Lounge; Lucian Books and Wine; and Marietta Proper.
Credit: Courtesy photo/Bailey Garrot
Credit: Courtesy photo/Bailey Garrot
Several restaurants and chefs have been recognized by the James Beard Foundation in the past, including Savang and Lassiter, who were the lone metro Atlanta 2024 James Beard finalists in the Best Chef: Southeast category (Savang was also a semifinalist in 2018 in the Rising Star Chef of the Year category). Kimball House, Aria and So have all been semifinalists or finalists.
Credit: Tyson Horne
Credit: Tyson Horne
This is the latest in a string of accolades and big news for several of the semifinalists. Kimball House, BoccaLupo, LanZhou Ramen, Talat Market and Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours were all named to the 2024 Atlanta Michelin Guide list of recommended restaurants. Later this year, Savang and Lassiter are set to open Thai bar Some Luck in Poncey-Highland and So is slated to open Spring 2nd Branch in Marietta.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Berry told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she was in bed when she heard about her nomination, expecting a slow day with Twisted Soul closed due to the icy conditions caused by Tuesday evening’s snowfall.
“I thought it was a mistake,” Berry said, describing the honor as “mind-blowing.”
“I’m completely self-taught and I love what I do,” she said. “It’s a great feeling to be rewarded for something you really enjoy doing, and it’s shocking because there’s so many talented people here. It’s one of the best moments that I’ve ever had in my life.”
Berry’s mother, Deborah VanTrece, was a semifinalist in the Best Chef: Southeast category in 2023 for her work at Twisted Soul.
Credit: Casa Balam
Credit: Casa Balam
“Oh my god! That’s great news to start the day. That’s amazing!” said Luis Damien, chef-owner of Casa Balam when he learned that his contemporary Mexican steakhouse had been named a Best New Restaurant semifinalist. “I think our hard work is starting to pay off after being ignored by the Michelin Guide. It’s been a long road,” said Damien, a 20-year industry veteran who also owns Mexican concepts El Valle in Midtown and Oaxaca in Chamblee.
”I think with Casa Balam, our intentions have always been to keep moving the needle when it comes to our style of cuisine, our cocktail program, our Mexican wines,” Damien said. “In another side of Mexico, you find these amazing steak places. We wanted to bring a little bit of that here.”
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
There were several notable omissions in national categories where Atlantans were nominated in the past, including Outstanding Bakery, Outstanding Pastry Chef and Outstanding Restaurateur.
Other than Savang and Lassiter, none of the chefs and restaurants named as 2024 Georgia semifinalists were recognized this year. They include Atsushi Hayakawa of Hayakawa in the Outstanding Chef category; Cooks & Soldiers in the Outstanding Hospitality category; and Pete Amadhanirundr of Puma Yu’s in Athens, Arnaldo Castillo of Tio Lucho’s, Erika Council of Bomb Biscuits and Duane Nutter of Southern National in the Best Chef: Southeast category.
Credit: Chris Hunt
Credit: Chris Hunt
Metro Atlanta chefs and restaurants have taken home several James Beard Award wins in the past. Most recently, Terry Koval of The Deer and The Dove won in the Best Chef: Southeast category last year, and Steven Satterfield, chef and co-owner of Miller Union, won Best Chef: Southeast in 2017.
Outside of Atlanta, Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah won for Outstanding Chef in 2022 and Best Chef: Southeast in 2019.
Finalists will be announced April 2, along with Humanitarian of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, and Impact Awards honorees. Winners will be announced at an award ceremony to be held June 16 in Chicago.
In addition, America’s Classics winners will be announced Feb. 26 and Media Award winners will be announced May 7.
Local nonprofit Giving Kitchen was a Humanitarian of the Year winner in 2019, and Atlanta restaurant Busy Bee was recognized with an America’s Classics award in 2022.
Established in 1990 with the first awards given in 1991, the James Beard Awards recognize leaders in the culinary and food media industries, and those in the broader food systems.
The foundation suspended its 2020 and 2021 awards to audit potential systemic bias and overhaul its nomination process.
