Philly chefs and restaurants were shut out at the 2024 James Beard Awards, but the city made the scene just the same

Philadelphia’s recent hot streak at the James Beard Foundation’s restaurant and chef awards ended Monday.

The city’s lone finalist — Jesse Ito, chef-owner of Royal Sushi & Izakaya in Queen Village — lost in voting to chef Harley Peet of Bas Rouge in Easton, Md., in the outstanding chef, Mid-Atlantic category. This was Ito’s seventh time as finalist in various Beard categories.

Ito had support afterward from friends and mentors from Philadelphia, chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon and restaurateur Ellen Yin, both of whom won Beard Awards after disappointments. Yin told him that when she first lost, JoAnn Clevenger from Upperline in New Orleans told her: “Honey, it’s not if you win or lose, just keep getting invited to the party.”

But still, Philadelphia commanded attention at the 2024 awards. The sight of Benny Lai and his mother, Thuyen Luu, striding across the stage at the Lyric Opera in Chicago to receive an award for Vietnam Restaurant in Chinatown was inspiring. As one of this year’s America’s Classics restaurants, Vietnam was honored for serving quality food, reflecting the character of their communities, and having timeless appeal.

» READ MORE: The story of Vietnam, an America's Classic restaurant

Luu and her husband, Nhu Lai, owned a sandal factory in South Vietnam that was confiscated by the communists after the fall of Saigon, and they arrived in the United States with $30 in their pockets. They opened a grocery in West Philadelphia, followed by the Chinatown restaurant, and later a second restaurant in West Philadelphia.

Philadelphia was last shut out of the chef and restaurant awards in 2016. The next year, however, the city’s scene came roaring back: the best chef in America was Michael Solomonov (Zahav, Laser Wolf, et al.), best restaurateur was Stephen Starr, best chef in the Mid-Atlantic region was Greg Vernick, and Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Del., was named best wine, spirits, or beer professional.

Last year was also a particularly bright year for Philadelphia: Friday Saturday Sunday was named the outstanding restaurant and Ellen Yin its outstanding restaurateur, while Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon of Kalaya was named the best chef in the Mid-Atlantic region.

No awards were given in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic and the Beard’s reaction to criticism that its nominees lacked diversity.

Philadelphians received solid Beard attention this year in other categories. Inquirer critic Craig LaBan and photographer Jessica Griffin won Saturday for travel writing for a series of articles about Cantina La Martina chef Dionicio Jiménez’s first post-pandemic trip home to Puebla as well as a deep dive into tequila and mezcal production led by Philadelphia restaurateur David Suro of Tequilas.

LaBan was a finalist this year in the criticism category won by the New Yorker’s Helen Rosner.

Books by local authors won both beverage categories. Suro and coauthor Gary Paul Nabhan won Beverage without Recipes for Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals. South Jersey bartender Danny Childs won in Beverage with Recipes for Slow Drinks: A Field Guide to Foraging and Fermenting Seasonal Sodas, Botanical Cocktails, Homemade Wines, and More.

Also, two of the five recipients of the foundation’s 2024 Leadership Awards work in the region and were recognized in a ceremony Sunday for working to set standards that “create more equitable, just, sustainable, and economically viable food systems for producers, workers, and consumers alike.” Muhammad Abdul-Hadi of Down North Pizza and the Down North Foundation in North Philadelphia was cited for Industry Culture and Practices, while Christa Barfield of FarmerJawn was honored for Emerging Leadership as someone “at the beginning of their career but already doing significant work.”

Food critic Craig LaBan contributed to this article.