These Are the 2020 James Beard Awards Finalists

Postponed from March 25, the James Beard Foundation has finally announced the finalists for its annual awards. The coronavirus pandemic, which has left millions unemployed, has devastated the hospitality industry, and the Twitter livestream announcing this year’s nominees recognized the crisis. “Today we acknowledge the accomplishments of all of the people behind these restaurants, and the need for us all to fight for this industry that employs 16 million people and is a vital part of American culture,” the foundation tweeted.

This year’s award categories not only included Restaurant and Chef Awards nominees, but also Media Awards nominees (Books, Broadcast, and Journalism), Design Awards nominees, and Leadership Awards honorees as well. This year’s nominees include David Chang, Kwame Onwuachi, Daniela Soto-Innes, Cassidee Dabney, Missy Robbins, Marc Vetri, Roy Choi, Natasha Pickowicz, Jessica Koslow, Junghyun Park, and many, many more. For a full list, click HERE.

The Humanitarian of the Year award, Lifetime Achievement award, and America’s Classics recipients were all previously announced. They are:

Humanitarian of the Year: Zero Foodprint

Lifetime Achievement: Jessica B. Harris

America’s Classics:

Lassis Inn / Little Rock, AR / Owners Elihue Washington Jr. and Maria Washington

Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth / Frankenmuth, MI / Owners Al Zehnder, Susan Zehnder, and Martha Zehnder Shelton

Puritan Backroom / Manchester, NH / Owners Arthur Pappas, Chris Pappas, and Eric Zink

Oriental Mart / Seattle / Owners Mila Apostol and Joy Apostol

El Taco de Mexico / Denver / Owner Sasha Zanabria

Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que / Brownsville, TX / Owner Armando Vera

The winners for the Media Awards will be announced via press release Wednesday, May 27 in lieu of a physical ceremony. The Restaurant and Chef Awards winners will be announced Friday, September 25 from Chicago, also broadcast live via Twitter.

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