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Greg Vernick, Mawn’s Phila Lorn, Kalaya, and Càphê Roasters make the 2025 James Beard restaurant semifinalists list

Nine chefs and six food establishments in the Philly region have made the 2025 James Beard Award semifinalists in a wide range of categories.

The Philadelphia-area semifinalists for James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef, Mid-Atlantic, for 2025 are (top row, from left) Yun Fuentes, Jesse Ito, and Anthony Andiario, and (bottom row, from left) Antimo DiMeo, Carlos Aparicio, and Amanda Shulman.
The Philadelphia-area semifinalists for James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef, Mid-Atlantic, for 2025 are (top row, from left) Yun Fuentes, Jesse Ito, and Anthony Andiario, and (bottom row, from left) Antimo DiMeo, Carlos Aparicio, and Amanda Shulman.Read moreInquirer photos

Nine Philadelphia-area chefs and six food establishments have made the list of semifinalists for the 2025 James Beard Awards.

Six chefs — Anthony Andiario of West Chester’s Andiario, Carlos Aparicio of South Philadelphia’s El Chingón, Antimo DiMeo of Wilmington’s Bardea, Yun Fuentes of Center City’s Bolo, Jesse Ito of South Philadelphia’s Royal Sushi & Izakaya, and Amanda Shulman of Center City’s Her Place Supper Club — are among 20 competing for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic, which covers Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Greg Vernick is in the running for Outstanding Chef for his work at Vernick Fish in the Comcast Technology Center. He won in 2017 for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic at Vernick Food & Drink, his flagship.

Kalaya, chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon’s Thai destination in Fishtown/Kensington, is a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant. Suntaranon won in 2023 for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic.

Little Fish, chef Alex Yoon’s seafood destination in Bella Vista, is a semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality, a not-too-shabby distinction for a 16-seat BYOB.

Càphê Roasters, the Vietnamese specialty coffee roastery in Kensington fronted by Thu Pham, is among the semifinalists for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program — a bit of a twist, given that its product line is coffee-based.

Phila Lorn of the hit South Philadelphia noodle shop Mawn is among the semifinalists for Emerging Chef, which recognizes chefs who are early in their careers. Lorn, 38, and his wife/business partner, Rachel, opened Mawn in 2023. They are planning to open a second restaurant, Sao, this year.

Abigail Dahan of Society Hill’s luxe restaurant Provenance is among the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker semifinalists. Dahan, who trained as a pastry chef in Paris, worked at Le Bec-Fin, spent nearly a decade as executive pastry chef at Parc, and taught pastry classes online during the pandemic.

Machine Shop, Emily Riddell’s boulangerie at the Bok Building in South Philadelphia, is part of the Outstanding Bakery list. Riddell, also a Le Bec-Fin alum, made the semifinals in 2023 in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category.

The 13-seat Lovers Bar at Center City’s Friday Saturday Sunday, open for walk-ins only, is a semifinalist for Outstanding Bar. FriSatSun was the Outstanding Restaurant in 2023.

Kampar Kongsi, the Malaysian bar at Ange Branca’s Kampar in Bella Vista, is on the list for Outstanding New Bar, a new category.

This list will be culled after a second round of Beard voting; the nominees will be named April 2. The awards gala will be held June 16 in Chicago.

Philadelphia-area contenders were shut out in the 2024 awards, despite fielding 10 semifinalists.

Correction: This story originally miscounted the number of establishments who were named semifinalists. It is six, not five.