Las Vegas scores 14 James Beard Award nominations, its most ever
In the city’s largest-ever haul of James Beard Award nominations, a host of Las Vegas chefs, restaurateurs, beverage professionals, two restaurants and a bar — 14 in all — were named semifinalists this week. The prestigious food and drink competition is presented annually by the James Beard Foundation.
The record number of nominations marks a significant shift from how Vegas has fared in recent years in the contest.
In 2025, four Vegas chefs and a beverage pro were named semifinalists, with three of the five later becoming finalists but not winning a Beard. In 2024, the city managed five chef semifinalists, with none making it to the final round. In 2023, Vegas saw two chef semifinalists, two chef finalists and a finalist in the wine bar category but no winners.
The Peppermill Restaurant on the Strip received an America’s Classics Award, a special recognition, in 2024. But the last time Vegas won in the main Beard competition was 2011, when Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam tied for best chef honors in the Southwest region. The last outright winner was Claude Le Tohic, then of Joël Robuchon in the MGM Grand, in 2011 for Best Chef: Southwest.
A ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ champion
Of note this year is first-time nominee Ellie Parker, the 26-year-old executive chef of Main St. Provisions and winner of the just-completed 24th season of “Hell’s Kitchen.” Parker is nominated in the Emerging Chef category for her modern American cooking (must try: buffalo cauliflower wings) at Main St.
Six chefs were tapped in the Best Chef: Southwest category, including first-time nominees Oulay Ceesay Fisher of Calabash African Kitchen and Yuri Szarzewski of Partage.
Calabash offers tastes of Fisher’s native Senegambia in dishes like jollof rice simmered in roasty tomato sauce, with a hum of habanero heat, and in mafe-domoda, a lusty peanut stew jabbed with scallions that are almost scorched. At Partage, Szarzewski sends out modern French tasting menus that change monthly, with cocktail and wine pairings.
The other local chef semifinalists are Brian Howard of Sparrow + Wolf, Jamie Tran of The Black Sheep, James Trees of many restaurants (nominated in 2026 for Bar Boheme) and Sarah Thompson of Casa Playa in Encore. All four have been named Beard Award semifinalists or finalists before.
Cocktails, wine and Indian
Elizabeth Blau of Honey Salt, Buddy V’s and Blau + Associates received a nod in the Outstanding Restaurateur category, while Milkfish Bakeshop’s Kimberly Mcintosh got a hat tip in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category.
Mariena Mercer Boarini, mixology maven for Wynn Resorts and inventor of numbing cocktail Electridust, garnered a nomination for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. Bank Atcharawan of Jipata ranked among the nominees for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service.
Ada’s, where Kat Thomas leads the wine program, got a shoutout for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. Nocturno from chef D.J. Flores, a Beard semifinalist in 2024 and 2025 for Milpa restaurant, was a pick in the Best New Bar category.
Tamba, a stylish modern Indian spot, rounds out the Vegas nominees, taking a spot in the Best New Restaurant category. Tamba is also among the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Top 100 Vegas Restaurants for 2025.
Finalists will be announced March 31, with the awards bestowed at a June 15 ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.
