



The James Beard Awards, considered to be the Oscars of the culinary industry, were presented in a gala ceremony on Monday night at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House.
Chicago’s Damarr Brown, chef de cuisine at Hyde Park’s Virtue restaurant, took home the coveted honor for emerging chef of the year.
“I want to thank God first, this is truly a blessing,” Brown said, as accepted his award and thanked his team at the restaurant, his girlfriend, mother and grandmother. He gave a special shout-out to Erick Williams, chef/owner of Virtue, whom Brown called his mentor. “For the last 13 years you have been an example for me. I stand because you stood,” Brown said. Williams last year received the award for best chef Great Lakes Region.
Co-hosts for the event honoring the best in chefs, restaurants and hospitality were chefs Eric Adjepong (“Top Chef” ), Esther Choi, cookbook writer and “Top Chef” judge Gail Simmons, and chef/restaurateur Andrew Zimmern.
In his welcoming remarks, mayor Brandon Johnson, attending his first ceremony as the city’s leader, gave shout outs to the myriad food cultures to be found across the Chicago area.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, (center) and his wife Stacie Rencher (right) join James Beard Foundation CEO Clare Reichenbach on the red carpet for the James Beard Awards at the Chicago Lyric Opera House on Monday night.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Time
“Our food really is the soul of Chicago,” Johnson said. “This town has every kind of cuisine and flavor imaginable. ... Our reputation for food helps draw millions of visitors here each year. ... As mayor, I’m committed to working with our city’s restaurant industry and making sure that these vital spaces have everything they need to thrive. You’re the heart of the city, no doubt about it. I celebrate and uplift this important industry.”
Paying homage to Damarr Brown’s win earlier in the evening, Johnson quipped, “I’d be remiss if I did not recognize that when you go to Virtue I can certainly vouch for the salmon steaks. You gotta check ‘em out. Congratulations, brother!”
In accepting her award for outstanding bakery, a new category in the history of the James Beard Awards, co-owner Marissa Gencarelli of Yoli Tortelleria in Kansas City, Missouri, paid tribute to her late parents and her Mexican heritage. “Thank you for helping me honor the very humble tortilla,” she said, fighting back tears.
Also being honored Monday night are the recipients of Humanitarian of the Year, awarded to Olivia Watkins and Karen Washington, co-founders of the Black Farmer Fund, and the Lifetime Achievement Award to multi-cookbook author (including “An Invitation to Indian Cooking,” which was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2006), teacher and actress Madhur Jaffrey, CBE.
On Saturday night, the James Beard Media Awards honoring broadcast media, cookbook, and journalism nominees from across the nation were presented at during a live ceremony at Columbia College Chicago. Leadership awards were presented in a special ceremony on Sunday.
The James Beard Awards moved from their longtime home in New York to Chicago in 2015, where they have taken place every year since. Awards were not presented in 2020 and 2021 due to the shutdown of restaurants amid the pandemic. In 2021, a virtual showcase celebrated past winners, and the nation’s culinary community as a whole as the foundation took a step back from the ceremonies to revamp its commitment to inclusion, diversity and equity.
More to come....