Frenchette

The James Beard Foundation has announced its 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists — and five local chefs/restaurateurs are on this very short list. The winners will be announced on June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Yes, this is a preamble, but it is still a big note of distinction.

Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, of Frenchette, which opened here in 2018 (they also have Le Veau d’ Or on the Upper East Side and Le Rock in Rockefeller Center), are among the list of 20 up for Outstanding Restaurateur. The only other New Yorker on that list is Simon Kim of COTE, Undercote and COQODAQ.

Jungsik Yim of Jungsik is up for Outstanding Chef nationwide.

Andrew Carmellini, whose first restaurant, Locanda Verde, opened here 16 years ago, was recognized for Café Carmellini — it opened just over a year ago in Nomad — in the Best New Restaurant category.

And Eiji Ichimura of Ichimura is up for Best Chef in New York State.

This is the 35th anniversary of the James Beard Awards, considered to be among the nation’s most prestigious honors across 25 categories across all types of dining experiences — fine dining to casual. This year they expanded with a focus on beverages, introducing three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.