Here are NC’s 2025 James Beard award nominees. Did Triangle chefs make the cut?
Despite having 15 semifinalists across nine categories, North Carolina chefs only came away with two James Beard nominations.
Two chefs from the North Carolina mountains earned nominations, but the Triangle’s buzzy restaurant scene was shut out.
The James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for its annual chef and restaurant awards Wednesday afternoon, April 2, often described as the “Oscars” of the food world.
In North Carolina, Silver Iocovozzi of Filipino restaurant Neng Jr.’s in Asheville, is a finalist for Best Chef: Southeast.
April Franqueza of The Dining Room at High Hampton in Cashiers is nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef, a national award.
Iocovozzi and Franqueza move on to the the June 16 gala in Chicago.
In the Triangle, all five semifinalist chefs and restaurants were left off of Wednesday’s finalist list, as were all three Charlotte semifinalists.
Perhaps the most surprising local omission is Scott Crawford for Outstanding Restaurateur. The Raleigh chef was a finalist last year for the first time, nominated for Outstanding Hospitality for his flagship restaurant Crawford & Son.
The timing seemed fitting for Crawford, who last year opened three major restaurants and a cocktail bar.
Here are North Carolina’s finalists:
Best Chef: Southeast
▪ Silver Iocovozzi, Neng Jr.’s, Asheville
Outstanding Pastry Chef
▪ April Franqueza, The Dining Room at High Hampton, Cashiers
This year, North Carolina had one of its best showings ever with 15 different chef, restaurant and bar nominations, spread literally from the mountains of Asheville to the port city of Wilmington.
Despite that strong showing, nearly every semifinalist was left out of Wednesday’s nominations.
Here are the semifinalists from January:
Outstanding Chef
- Ricky Moore, Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham
- William Dissen, The Market Place, Asheville
Outstanding Restaurateur
- Scott Crawford, Crawford Hospitality Group in Raleigh
Best New Restaurant
- Figulina in Raleigh
Emerging Chef
- Bhavin Chhatwani, Tamasha Modern Indian in Raleigh
Outstanding Pastry Chef
- April Franqueza, The Dining Room at High Hampton, Cashiers
Outstanding Wine & Other Beverages Program
- Leo’s House of Thirst, Asheville
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
- Colleen Hughes, Supperland, Charlotte
Best New Bar
- The Bar Beej, connected to Cheeni in Durham
Best Chef Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
- Chris Prieto, Prime Barbecue in Knightdale
- Ashleigh Shanti, Good Hot Fish in Asheville
- Chayil Johnson, Community Matters Cafe in Charlotte
- Sunny Gerhart and Lauren Krall Ivey, Olivero in Wilmington
- Sam Diminich, Restaurant Constance in Charlotte
Silver Iocovozzi, Neng Jr.’s, Asheville
Triangle James Beard winners
The Triangle has claimed most of the James Beard award ever won in North Carolina.
▪ The first winners were married couple Ben and Karen Barker, who won separate awards for iconic Durham restaurant Magnolia Grill. Ben Barker won Best Chef: Southeast in 2000, followed by Karen Barker’s win in 2003 for Outstanding Pastry Chef, a national honor.
▪ Andrea Reusing won for Best Chef: Southeast in 2011 for her Chapel Hill restaurant Lantern.
▪ Ashley Christensen won Best Chef: Southeast in 2014 for Poole’s Diner and later won Outstanding Chef in the country in 2019, arguably the top James Beard award.
▪ Durham chef Ricky Moore is the Triangle’s most recent winner, taking home Best Chef: Southeast in 2022 for his Saltbox Seafood Joint.
Also that year, two Asheville restaurants each won national award: Asheville’s Chai Pani was named Outstanding Restaurant in the country and Cúrate won for Outstanding Hospitality.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 1:55 PM.
