The James Beard Foundation announced Wednesday the finalists vying for its coveted Restaurant and Chef awards, and among them are five Chicago chefs and restaurants, including first-time nominees Galit and Kumiko.“I was just doing some cleaning and repair stuff, and then my phone started blowing up — I was like ‘What’s happening?!’” said Julia Momosé, Kumiko partner and creative director. “It’s really incredible. … It’s just amazing.”Kumiko, a Japanese dining bar in the West Loop, was nominated for Outstanding Bar. Momosé, who has a staff of 18, said Kumiko’s first-ever semifinalist nomination in January was already a whirlwind.“When I first opened Kumiko, awards were always one of those things that I was hopeful for, that the work we were doing would be recognized, someday — but not necessarily that we existed to win the awards,” said Momosé, who won a James Beard Foundation Media Award in 2022 for her book “The Way of the Cocktail.” “We just wanted to exist and simply be a reflection of the heart and dedication and care and talent and passion for hospitality and for food and for beverage.”The James Beard Awards are considered to be among the nation’s most prestigious honors for the culinary industry. This year will also commemorate the 35th anniversary of the awards and celebrate what the foundation calls the “transformative role the awards have played in honoring culinary excellence and shaping the evolution of American food culture.”Along with Kumiko, local finalists include Galit for Outstanding Restaurant, and three Chicago finalists in the Best Chef: Great Lakes category, which encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio: Thai Dang of HaiSous; Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower of Maxwells Trading; and Noah Sandoval of Oriole.HaiSous, the Vietnamese restaurant that opened in Pilsen in 2017 and has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, has become known for its wings, crab fried rice, grilled eggplant, curries and unique takes on urban street food. Dang has been a semifinalist in the Great Lakes category four times.Since Oriole’s opening in 2016, the new American restaurant in the West Loop has earned two Michelin stars and received the 2022 Jean Banchet Award for Restaurant of the Year. Sandoval is also a James Beard-nominated chef and was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 2017.Jung, a first-time James Beard Award finalist, said he felt a mix of emotions when learning of the nomination for Maxwells Trading.“It was almost like relief, in a way, like when you follow your favorite sports team and they win a playoff game,” said Jung.The West Loop spot is an intimately American- and Asian-influenced restaurant serving things such as griddle bread inspired by Chinese scallion pancakes, Yamagata koshihikari, suzuki tartare and Royal Milk tiramisu.“I would be lying if I said this wasn’t a dream of mine to be a finalist for a James Beard Award since I have been cooking professionally,” Jung said. “For me, it frames everything that we’ve been doing and how faithful I am to my kitchen team, especially. If they didn’t care as much as they did, if they didn’t execute to the level that they do every day, it doesn’t matter if I have cool recipes. They’re crushing it. We’re really lucky to have such a killer group.”The whole team at Maxwells Trading was recently recognized in the Tribune’s annual Critic’s Choice Food Awards as the city’s Best New Restaurant.Wu-Bower said he also took an exhale after hearing the Beard Awards nomination news.“We get to have a lot of fun, and (the nomination) just kind of magnifies the fun,” he said.Michelin-starred Galit, located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, is also in contention for one of the most sought-after accolades.While Zachary Engel, executive chef of the Middle Eastern eatery serving dishes of Turkish, Iraqi, Greek and Tunisian origin, won a James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef in 2017, the nomination is a first for co-owner Andrés Clavero.“It’s truly surreal,” said Clavero, laughing that he was doing payroll when the announcement came. “I’m not normally speechless. This is a crazy honor, and just to be nominated and in Chicago as well, hoping to make Chicago proud.”Galit earned a Michelin star in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and was also named the 2024 Restaurant of the Year by the Jean Banchet Awards.Last month, Lem’s Bar-B-Q, a staple of the South Side’s Chatham neighborhood, was recognized by the James Beard Foundation as an “America’s Classic,” which recognizes “locally and independently owned restaurants with timeless appeal.”The cohort of finalists was selected from a January list of semifinalists that included a total of 22 Chicago restaurants, chefs and bars. The full list of nominees and honorees can be found on the James Beard Foundation website. The winners will be announced at Chicago’s Civic Opera House on June 16.Last year, Chicago saw just one local winner at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, with Lula Cafe winning for Outstanding Hospitality.
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