Several Denver restaurants and chefs were named as finalists for the 2025 James Beard Awards, one of the highest achievements in the culinary world.
This year, the James Beard Foundation is giving out 17 national awards, with several awards to recognize the best chefs in different regions. (JBF refers to its finalists as “nominees.”)
Denver's nominees and the category they're competing in are listed below:
- Alma Fonda Fina — Best New Restaurant
- McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright, Yacht Club — Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
- Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton — Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
Several chefs and restaurants were recognized in a previous round of nominations, but did not make the final cut.
And the restaurants and chefs outside Denver that were nominated include:
- Josh Niernberg, Bin 707, Grand Junction — Outstanding Chef
- Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder — Outstanding Restaurant
- Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos, Poulette Bakeshop, Parker — Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
What's next?
Winners of the James Beard Awards will be announced in Chicago in mid-June.
Several of the finalists were previously recognized by the James Beard Foundation and other culinary organizations. Nugent and Ramos of Poulette Bakeshop were nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Bakery in last year’s James Beard Awards.
Alma Fonda Fina, a Mexican restaurant that takes inspiration from its head chef’s childhood in Guadalajara, was awarded a Michelin Star in 2024.
Growing national recognition
The list of nominations add to national recognition for Denver’s culinary scene.
Last year, eight Denver chefs and restaurants made it to the semifinal stage, with even more nominated outside the city.
Denver chef Kelly Whitaker and partner Erika Whitaker, who own restaurants like Michelin-star winners Brutø and The Wolf’s Tailor, were named the nation’s best restauranteurs that year.
