The James Beard Foundation Awards, often considered America's most prestigious national restaurant awards, took place Monday night in Chicago and honored culinary and beverage professionals from a variety of cuisines, prices and locations, and a chef from Los Angeles took home the region's award. greatest praise.
In January, 18 Los Angeles-area chefs, pop-ups, bakeries and other culinary talent were named semi-finalists for the 2024 James Beard Foundation Chef and Restaurant Awards; in April only two companies from Los Angeles and one from Orange County progressed as nominees. Tonight, one received the honor of Best Chef: California.
Clockwise from top left: Lucena chon, hiramasa collar, and pancit with Kuya Lord blue shrimp.
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
Lord Maynard Llera, chef and owner of the modern Filipino restaurant Kuya Lord, a LA Times' 101 Best Restaurants awarded, won the coveted regional award. The restaurant, as well as Llera's nickname, is a Tagalog term of endearment that translates to “big brother.”
In April, Llera told The Times that his James Beard Award nomination symbolized a victory for the Filipino community, regardless of whether he would win in June. “It means a lot to me and the restaurant because it will highlight Filipino cuisine,” she said, “moving forward.”
Llera grew up in the city of Lucena, Philippines, before moving to Los Angeles and working in some of Los Angeles' most prestigious kitchens, including Bestia and the group h.wood. In 2019, at 40 years old, she decided to start her own project. He debuted his Filipino barbecue operation like a pandemic pop-up from his home in La Cañada Flintridge, where word of mouth spread quickly; diners pre-ordered large aluminum trays of kare kare, pancit and other specialties to go.
Chef Maynard Llera works the outdoor grill in his backyard in 2021, before opening his own restaurant.
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
In 2022 Llera changed the concept to a fast and casual restaurant in Melrose Hill, where their signature suckling pig and sweet sausages are now served atop rice bowls or on eye-catching combination platters alongside modern dishes like grilled hiramasa collars.
“I want to thank my wife, who came here to the United States to be with me and support me from day one,” Llera said during his acceptance speech. “She even quit her job and shared this journey with me. Without her, Kuya Lord would not be here now…this recognition is not only a testament to my individual efforts and hard work, but a reflection of the support, encouragement and collaboration of many wonderful people in my life. I am lucky to have mentors, friends, and family along this journey.
“I want to thank my team, my sous chef [Josh Simpao]who runs the restaurant [and] gave me the opportunity to come here to Chicago and experience this once in a lifetime experience. [opportunity]. Thank you all, thank you James Beard and maraming salamat po.”
Vegetable galettes are baked at sunrise at Gusto Bread in Long Beach. The traditional cereal bakery was nominated for the 2024 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Baking.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Long Beach artisan bakery Gusto Bread was nominated in the outstanding bakery category but did not win; Zu Bakery, in Portland, Maine, received that award. Bread Gusto, from owners Arturo Enciso and Ana Belén Salatinocan be found serving some of the best pastries in the region using carefully selected grains and other ingredients.
Strong Water tiki bar in Anaheim, named by the LA Times as one of the best tiki bars in southern California — was a finalist in the category of outstanding wine and other beverage program. Lula Drake Wine Parlor in Columbia, South Carolina, earned that honor Monday night.
But a culinary luminary with deep roots in the region took home another award: what is arguably the most prestigious honor the James Beard Foundation bestows each year. Ruth Reichl, former food editor of the Los Angeles Times, received her lifetime achievement award.
Ruth Reichl, photographed in the Los Angeles Times Studio at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, received this year's James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
Reichl served as food critic for the LA Times from 1984 to 1993 before becoming editor and hiring current LA Times Food general manager Laurie Ochoa and her husband, the late LA Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. Reichl's career has spanned decades and continents, documenting trends, palates and changing culinary landscapes for the New York Times, Gourmet, Saveur and Bon Appétit, among other publications.
“All weekend people have been telling me, 'You're a legend,' and I don't feel like a legend,” Reichl said during the livestream of the ceremony's red carpet pre-show festivities. “I just do what I do and, you know, I feel like the luckiest person on Earth. I've been able to do exactly what I wanted my entire life. I feel like not just me, but a whole group of us, from my generation, really changed the way people eat in America and it's a great feeling.”
His influential writings extend far beyond articles; The chef and writer has written a dozen books, including novels, cookbooks and memoirs. Reichl also appeared as a judge on the cooking show “Top Chef Masters” and as host and producer of the 2023 documentary “Food and Country.”
The James Beard Foundation Awards are often called “the Oscars of food.” Before the ceremony, Reichl was surprised to learn from a red carpet host that, among her many other accomplishments, she had supposedly coined the term herself: She called the James Beard Foundation's first awards ceremony “Oscar of the Year.” meal”. The description that appears in his summary of the inaugural event, which was published in the LA Times in 1991(although the article also quotes chef Lydia Shire as saying, “I came from Boston because these are the Oscars of the food world.”)
“I've been with the Beards since the first one,” Reichl said before Monday's awards ceremony, “and I still think [about] What a generational shift there has been: how much food has changed, and this generation is so different, so much more diverse, so much more exciting. And it gives me great hope about what will happen to food in the future.”
In addition to Monday's ceremony, the foundation held its annual media awards on June 8 to recognize the year's best cookbooks, documentaries, features and other coverage. Like the 2024 Restaurant Awards, the 2024 Media Awards also featured few Los Angeles winners, although several local food series and writers, including Los Angeles Times food editor Daniel Hernandez, received nominations this year.
“The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp”, written by Fly by businessman Jing chili-crisp and Superette Suá owner Jing Gao, won the visual category, with the award given to photographer and visual artist Yudi Ela Echevarría. “The Michoacán File”, narrated by Los Angeles actor and restaurateur Danny Trejo, and directed by Bernardo Arsuaga, won the award for best documentary visual support. Find the full list of 2024 James Beard Foundation Media Award winners here.
