The James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for its 2025 restaurant and chef awards Wednesday afternoon, and Atlanta chefs and restaurateurs were largely shut out from the honors.
The exception was Buckhead fine dining restaurant Aria, which made the finalist list for the nationwide Outstanding Hospitality award. The recognition is a final feather in the cap of chef and owner Gerry Klaskala, who announced his retirement last week after a 55-year career.
“I am so proud of the team,” Klaskala told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Great hospitality doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of effort. It has to be authentic and genuine.” He called the commendation “an acknowledgement for the kind of hospitality we’ve always stood by.”
He noted that hospitality at Aria was ingrained in front-facing employees as well as kitchen staff.
“At the front of the house side, they are the ones embracing the guests, right there with them giving them this personal, authentic level of service. That doesn’t happen in a lot of restaurants,” he said. “It’s not the same spiel at each table, not a rehearsed thing. We allow our staff to bring their own personalities into the experience.”
At the back of the house, Klaskala said, they ask floor staff to “let us know what the guests want” when it comes to accommodating food preferences or needs.
“The guest-first mentality has been part of the culture of what we are about,” he said.
The only other Atlanta connection on the awards list was Chad Houser of Café Momentum, who won Humanitarian of the Year. The nonprofit restaurant group employs justice-involved teenagers and is based in Dallas, but Café Momentum recently opened its fourth location in Atlanta.
Five Georgia chefs were named semifinalists for Best Chef - Southeast, but none made the final cut. The finalists named Wednesday were Noam Bilitzer of MeeshMeesh Mediterranean in Louisville, Kentucky; Sara Bradley of Freighthouse in Paduca, Kentucky; Jake Howell of Peninsula in Nashville, Tennessee; Silver Iocovozzi of Neng Jr’s in Asheville, North Carolina; and Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia, South Carolina.
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 16 in Chicago. Media Award winners will be announced June 14.
Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards are among the nation’s most prestigious honors recognizing leaders in the culinary and food media industries.
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 and the newly opened Fawn won in the Best Chef: Southeast category in 2023. Miller Union chef and co-owner Steven Satterfield took home the medal in that same category in 2017.
Outside of Atlanta, Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah won for Outstanding Chef in 2022 and Best Chef: Southeast in 2019.
America’s Classics winners were announced Feb. 26 and did not include any Atlanta or Georgia restaurants.
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.
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