The winners of the James Beard Award 2022 are…

(CNN) — An Indian street food restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina, a Native American restaurant in Minneapolis and an African American chef at a fine dining restaurant in Savannah, Georgia earned three of the highest honors from the American culinary community on Monday night.

Mashama Bailey, executive chef at The Gray in Savannah, is the 2022 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Chef.

“Black and brown folks, immigrants, mom-and-pop stores are bubbling beneath the surface of this industry and have long worked hard to establish our place in American cuisine. I stand on the backs of many of them and today a little black girl or little black boy can see himself as a future Outstanding Chef,” Bailey said upon receiving the award.

Mashama Bailey of The Gray in Savannah, Georgia, won the Outstanding Chef Award.

Dylan Wilson/The New York Times/Redux

Chai Pani, an Asheville restaurant that serves bright, crunchy Indian street snacks, earned the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant.

“Restaurants are so much greater than the sum of what’s within its four walls. A restaurant has the power to transform — transform the people who work there, transform the people who come in, transform the communities we live in. , transform society. Restaurants can transform the world,” said Meherwan Irani, executive chef and founder of Chai Pani, which also has a location in Decatur, Georgia.

Owamni, a Minneapolis Native restaurant run by Dana Thompson and executive chef Sean Sherman, won the Best New Restaurant award.

Sherman pointed to the centuries of racism and colonialism that people of color have endured.

“This shows that we can get through that, that we’re still here. You know, our people are here, our ancestors are proud tonight because we’re doing something different. We put health on the table, we’ We bring culture to the table and we put our stories on the table,” Sherman said.

Hard work, dedication and resilience

The James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony was held Monday night at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot welcomed the awards ceremony in Chicago and said it empowered the city’s bonafide foodie. She was one of the many speakers who spoke about the difficulties caused by Covid-19.

“Your hard work, dedication and resilience… in overcoming the challenges of this great pandemic is a testament to the adage, ‘What doesn’t break you, makes you stronger.’”

The 2022 awards are the first to be awarded under new policies and procedures and a new code of ethics fueled by allegations of bad chef behavior and lack of diversity.

Prices in many key categories were abruptly called off in 2020 and remained on hiatus in 2021 amid the pandemic upheaval in the industry and the foundation’s work on the new framework.

The nonprofit James Beard Foundation was established more than 30 years ago, shortly after the death of “pioneer foodie” James Beard, “to celebrate, support and uplift the people behind American food culture.”

Beard was the host of “I Love to Eat,” the first network television food program in 1946, and was named the “Dean of American Cookery” by The New York Times in 1954.

Here’s the full list of the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards 2022 nominees. The winners in each category are shown in bold.

Excellent restaurateur

• Ashok Bajaj, Knightsbridge Restaurant Group (Rasika, Bindaas, Annabelle and others), Washington, DC

• WINNER: Chris Bianco, Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix

• Kevin Gillespie, Red Beard Restaurants (Gunshow and Revival), Atlanta

• Akkapong “Earl” Ninsom, Langbaan, Hat Yai, Eem and others, Portland, Oregon

• Chris Williams, Lucille’s Hospitality Group, Houston

• Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a.kitchen + bar, High Street Philly, and others), Philadelphia

Excellent Chef

• Reem Assil, Reem’s, Oakland and San Francisco

• WINNER: Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, Georgia

• Peter Chang, Peter Chang, Virginia and Maryland

• Jason Vincent, Giant, Chicago

• Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle

Chai Pani in Asheville, North Carolina, won the Outstanding Restaurant Award.

USA Today Network

Excellent restaurant

• Brennan’s, New Orleans

• Butcher & Bee, Charleston, South Carolina

• WINNER: Chai Pani, Asheville, North Carolina

• Parachute, Chicago

• The Walrus and the Carpenter, Seattle

Emerging Chef

• Angel Barreto, Anju, Washington, DC

• Calvin Eng, Bonnie’s, New York City

• Cleophus Hethington, Benne on Eagle, Asheville, North Carolina

• Serigne Mbaye, Dakar Nola, New Orleans

• WINNER: Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin

• Crystal Wahpepah, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, Oakland, California

Best new restaurant

• Angry Egret Dinette, Los Angeles

• Bacanora, Phoenix

• BARDA, Detroit

• Dhamaka, New York City

• Horn BBQ, Oakland, California

• Included, Chicago

• Leeward, Portland, Maine

• WINNER: Owamni, Minneapolis

• Oyster Oyster, Washington, DC

• Roots Southern Table, Farmers Branch, Texas

• Ursula, New York City

Excellent Pastry Shop

• WINNER: Warda Bouguettaya, Warda Patisserie, Detroit

• Margarita Manzke, Republic, Los Angeles

• Claudia Martinez, Miller Union, Atlanta

• Ruben Ortega, Hochi, Houston

• Caroline Schiff, Gage & Tollner, New York City

Excellent bakery

• Maya-Camille Broussard, Justice of the Pies, Chicago

• Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery, Portland, Maine

• WINNER: Don Guerra, Barrio Bread, Tucson, Arizona

• Caroline Schweitzer and Lauren Heemstra, Wild Crumb, Bozeman, Montana

• Zak Stern, Zak de Bakker, Miami

Excellent hospitality

• WINNER: Curate, Asheville, NC

• Home of Prime Rib, San Francisco

• Hugo’s, Houston

• Sylvia’s Restaurant, NYC

• Ticonderoga Club, Atlanta

Excellent wine program

• WINNER: The Four Horsemen, New York City

• Frenchette, NYC

• Little Nell, Aspen, CO

• Maydan, Washington, DC

• Rebel Rebel, Somerville, MA

Excellent bar program

• Alley Twenty Six, Durham, North Carolina

• Attaboy, Nashville, Tennessee

• barmini by José Andrés, Washington, DC

• WINNER: Julep, Houston

Nobody is baby, Chicago

Dear chefs

Best Chef: California

• WINNER: Brandon Jew, Mister Jiu’s, San Francisco

• Bryant Ng, Cassia, Santa Monica, California

• Sarintip “Jazz” Singsanong, Jitlada, Los Angeles

• James Syhabout, Commis, Oakland, California

• Pim Techamuanvivit, Nari, San Francisco

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

• Omar Anani, Saffron De Twah, Detroit

• Jason Hammel, Lula Cafe, Chicago

• Noah Sandoval, Wielewaal, Chicago

• John Shields and Karen Urie Shields, Smyth, Chicago

• WINNER: Erick Williams, Virtue Restaurant & Bar, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

• Angel Barreto, Anju, Washington, DC

• Amy Brandwein, Centrolina, Washington, DC

• Jesse Ito, Royal Izakaya, Philadelphia

• WINNER: Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia

• Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, Kalaya Thai Kitchen, Philadelphia

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

• WINNER: Dane Baldwin, The Diplomat, Milwaukee

• Karen Bell, Bavette La Boucherie, Milwaukee

• Jorge Guzman, Petite Leon, Minneapolis

• Gregory Leon, Amilinda, Milwaukee

• Sean Sherman, Owamni, Minneapolis

• Yia Vang, Union Hmong Kitchen, Minneapolis

Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)

• Jose Avila, The Black Sheep, Denver

Cody Cheetham, Tavernetta, Denver

• WINNER: Caroline Glover, Annette, Aurora, Colorado

• Dana Rodriguez, Work & Class, Denver

• Eric Skokan, Black Cat Farm Table Bistro, Boulder, Colorado

Best Chef: New York State

• Amanda Cohen, Dirt Candy, New York City

• JJ Johnson, FIELDTRIP, New York City

• Ayesha Nurdjaja, Shuka, New York City

• WINNER: Chintan Pandya, Dhamaka, New York City

• Junghyun Park, Atomix, New York City

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

• Vien Dobui, Powder Co., Portland, Maine

• Tiffani Faison, Orfano, Boston

• Courtney Loreg, Woodford Food & Drink, Portland, Maine

• WINNER: Nisachon Morgan, Saap, Randolph, Vermont

• Damian Sansonetti, Chaval, Portland, Maine

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)

• Carlo Lamagna, Walking Kitchen, Portland, Oregon

• WINNER: Robynne Maii, Fête, Honolulu

• Thomas Pisha-Duffly, Grandma’s Hideaway, Portland, Oregon

• Sheldon Simeon, Tin Roof, Kahului, Hawaii

• Mutsuko Soma, Kamonegi, Seattle

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

• Katie Button, Curate, Asheville, North Carolina

• Greg Collier, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, North Carolina

• Philip Krajeck, Rolf and Daughters, Nashville

• Cheetie Kumar, Garland, Raleigh, North Carolina

• WINNER: Ricky Moore, SALTBOX Seafood Joint, Durham, North Carolina

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)

• Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith, Saint-Germain, New Orleans

• WINNER: Adam Evans, Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, Alabama

• Timothy Hontzas, Johnny’s Restaurant, Homewood, Alabama

• Melissa M. Martin, Mosquito Supper Club, New Orleans

• Isaac Toups, Toups’ Meatery, New Orleans

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)

• WINNER: Fernando Olea, Sazon, Santa Fe

• Martin Rios, Restaurant Martin, Santa Fe

• Salazar Brothers, La Guelaguetza, Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Giovanni Scorzo, Andreoli Italian Grocer, Scottsdale, Arizona

• Jamie Tran, The Black Sheep, Las Vegas

Best Chef: Texas

• Tiffany Derry, Roots Southern Table, Farmers Branch

• Christine Ha and Tony J. Nguyen, Hello, Houston

• Quy Hoang, Blood Bros. BBQ, Bellaire

• Steven McHugh, healed, San Antonio

• WINNER: Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo, Austin