James Beard Awards name North Carolina semifinalists — including 3 in Charlotte
The James Beard Awards has released its 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists, with three Charlotteans on the list of the country’s best and most creative food and beverage professionals.
Finalists for the awards — called nominees by the awards committee — will be announced on Wednesday, April 2. The winners will be revealed at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Best Chef: Southeast
Chefs Sam Diminich of Restaurant Constance and Your Farms, Your Table and Chayil Johnson of Community Matters Cafe were each nominated in the Best Chef: Southeast category.
“This nomination is not a singular achievement but a reflection of the collective efforts of the exceptional team at Your Farms Your Table,” Diminich said via an email to CharlotteFive. “It highlights the shared belief that together — with our talented chefs, dedicated farmers, and incredible industry partners — we can create something far greater than any one chef could accomplish alone — a belief perfectly embodied by the success of Restaurant Constance.”
He continued: “When passionate individuals come together, we can truly push the boundaries of possibility within our industry and beyond. I am deeply humbled to be among this accomplished group of industry colleagues and friends and inspired by what we can achieve next.”
Johnson told CharlotteFive that the announcement caught him by surprise while scrolling Instagram to check for friends on the list.
“If I’m being honest, I was looking for the cafe — but I was looking for us as an Outstanding Restaurant, because I just thought as a team, we were deserving of that. ... But when I didn’t see us, I just started scrolling to see if I saw any of my friends on there.
“And then I got down to Southeast, and I saw Sam Diminich — who I expected. That’s who I’ve been saying all year that’s expected to get nominated and maybe even take it home this year for the Southeast. And I was about to just close it out until I saw saw that very recognizable Cha,” Johnson said, referring to his first name. “So it was just really exciting and unexpected. I’m very grateful.”
The two restaurant teams rallied to support each other, as well.
- “CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE! Let’s go Charlotte!!!!,” a Community Matters Cafe representative said via CharlotteFive’s Instagram post.
- Restaurant Constance replied to the post, as well, saying: “Community Matters Cafe, wooohooo Charlotte on the map! Congrats chef!!”
The category includes chefs from North Carolina and South Carolina, along with Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Sunny Gerhart and Lauren Krall Ivey of Olivero in Wilmington and Silver Iocovozzi of Neng Jr.’s in Asheville were also among the semifinalists.
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
This year, the awards expanded with three new beverage categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.
Beverage director Colleen Hughes of the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group is a semifinalist in the Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service category for her work at Supperland.
Hughes told CharlotteFive via email: “Being recognized by JBF is overwhelming. The idea that a woman bartender from North Carolina can be recognized by the most prestigious culinary award in the country is simply amazing. I could not be more proud of myself and my team.”
No other North Carolina beverage professionals were nominated in her category, although Leo’s House of Thirst in Asheville was nominated for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. The Bar Beej in Durham was nominated for Best New Bar.
Charlotte food and drink
Charlotte’s dining scene has been well recognized by the awards committee in the past several years, although none of those nominated have progressed to win the top awards. Among the chefs and restaurants recently recognized have been:
- Gregory Collier for Uptown Yolk and Leah & Louise
- Daryl Cooper and Oscar Johnson for Jimmy Pearls
- Jason and Dairelyn Glunt for Salud Cerveceria
- Sam Hart for Counter-
This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 11:55 AM.
