The James Beard Foundation recently announced that the entry and recommendation period for the 2025 James Beard Awards is officially open. It will be ongoing until November 29, 2024 (Friday), at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Ceremonies for the 2025 Awards will be held in Chicago, Illinois from June 14 to 16, 2025.
Keep reading for more details about the awards as well as the eligibility requirements and submission guidelines.
What Are the James Beard Awards?
The annual James Beard Awards are all about recognizing remarkable talent in various fields like the culinary arts, hospitality, food media and the broader U.S. food and beverage industry.
Each James Beard Award winner receives a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia.
The James Beard Awards are comprised of these recognition programs and achievement awards:
- Restaurant and Chef Awards
- Media Awards (Book, Broadcast Media, and Journalism)
- Lifetime Achievement
- Humanitarian of the Year
- Impact Awards – newly launched
Next year’s James Beard Awards will also be the 35th anniversary of the awards’ founding. In celebration of this milestone, the 2025 James Beard Awards will launch a few developments — including three new beverage-focused categories under the Restaurant and Chef Awards.
See also: Upcoming Restaurant Industry Events To Attend in 2025
What Are Part of the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards?
The Restaurant and Chef Awards now consist of the following categories:
| Category title: | Given to an: |
| Outstanding Restaurateur | Individual |
| Outstanding Chef | Individual |
| Outstanding Restaurant | Establishment |
| Emerging Chef | Individual |
| Best New Restaurant | Establishment |
| Outstanding Bakery | Establishment |
| Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker | Individual |
| Outstanding Hospitality | Establishment |
| Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program | Establishment |
| Outstanding Bar | Establishment |
| Best New Bar (new) | Establishment |
| Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service (new) | Individual |
| Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service (new) | Individual |
As per the James Beard Foundation, anyone can submit a Chef or restaurant for consideration during the online open call. There are also no entry fees for submissions for the aforementioned categories.
The James Beard Foundation also mentioned that only one recommendation is necessary for each individual or restaurant that you suggest. This means that they don’t take into consideration the number of recommendations submitted for each individual or restaurant.
See also: Top 10 Chefs in the World Redefining Culinary Experience
Who Is Eligible for the Restaurant and Chef Awards?
In order to qualify for an individual award (e.g., Outstanding Chef), a candidate must be actively making food and/or beverages that are available to the public.
Meanwhile, a candidate for an establishment award (e.g., Outstanding Restaurant) must be a dining and/or drinking establishment that’s open to the public. This therefore includes restaurants, bars, pop-ups and food trucks.
The James Beard Foundation also noted that these places must be “reasonably accessible” to the public and be open for business (or accept and fill orders) at least twice a month.
However, some categories under the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards also have specific eligibility requirements. For instance, the Outstanding Hospitality category requires an establishment to have been operating for at least five years in order to qualify.
To find out more, check out this document.
How To Submit an Entry to the 2025 James Beard Awards
You can submit an entry or recommendation through the James Beard Awards platform.
As mentioned earlier, this open call will be accessible to the general public until November 29, 2024. However, besides the general public, there will also be judges actively searching for potential candidates across various U.S. regions.
For more information about the overall nomination and voting process, click here.
Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons
