The James Beard Foundation has added three categories to its annual Restaurant and Chef Awards for 2025, all focusing on beverages and beverage professionals.
In announcing the semifinalists for the awards on Wednesday, the foundation named candidates in three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.
Those are in addition to the existing categories of Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program and Outstanding Bar, as well as all of the awards specifically for restaurants and chefs. The Outstanding Bar category was originally introduced as Outstanding Bar Program in 2012. The Outstanding Wine Program, formerly Outstanding Wine Service, has existed since the awards’ inception in 1991, but was renamed in 2023 to incorporate other beverages.
Previously, the Beard Foundation also presented an award for Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional, often given to a producer. However the category was discontinued when the awards essentially took a two-year hiatus in 2020-2021, according to the foundation’s awards database.
The Best New Bar award is described as “A wine bar, beer bar, cocktail bar, coffee bar, or any other business whose primary offering is beverage, opened between October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024, that already demonstrates excellence in beverages, seems likely to make a significant impact in years to come, and demonstrates consistent excellence in the preparation of drinks, sourcing, service, hospitality, atmosphere, and operations.”
Bars opened in the third quarter of 2024 are eligible for this category in 2026, according to the Beard Foundation.
The Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service award is to go to “a service professional who curates and serves wine, beer, or other offerings such as sake [and] low- and non-alcoholic beverages in a restaurant or bar setting; or winery, distillery, or brewery that also serves food. Candidate has set high standards; demonstrates creativity and consistency in excellence, innovation, hospitality; is making efforts to create a sustainable work culture; and has served as an exceptional example or mentor for other beverage professionals.”
The winner of the Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service would be “a service professional who creates and serves cocktails or other offerings such as low- and non-alcoholic beverages. Candidate has set high standards; demonstrates creativity and consistency in excellence, innovation, [and] hospitality; is making efforts to create a sustainable work culture; and has served as an exceptional example or mentor for other beverage professionals.
Dawn Padmore, the Beard Foundation’s vice president of awards, said in an email, “The James Beard Awards have long recognized the critical role that beverage plays in the culinary landscape. In fact, our commitment to honoring beverage professionals is not new. We have a history of celebrating excellence in this field — from the Outstanding Wine, Spirits, and Beer Professional category to Outstanding Wine …. Introducing new categories reflects the ever-evolving nature of beverage programs and choices on restaurant menus, as well as growing consumer interest in more and more expansive offerings. It also underscores our mission to champion excellence across the industry. By recognizing outstanding beverage professionals and programs, we aim to elevate the craft, continue to spotlight exceptional talent, and highlight the critical role beverages play in creating extraordinary dining experiences.”
She said the move to expand beverage awards began in 2018 and 2019, “with initial conversations involving key members of the beverage and hospitality industries.”
Those discussions were revived in 2023, she said.
Padmore said at the core of this initiative was an advisory group comprised of previous Beard Award winners and “distinguished beverage industry professionals”
“This group contributed invaluable insight — providing feedback on our ideas, helping to refine the categories and criteria, and ensuring our approach represents general industry trends.”
She added that the foundation also created a new beverage subcommittee separate but working in tandem with the Restaurant and Chef Awards subcommittee.
The changes are part of a continuing transformation of the Beard Awards, which have been reworked to be more inclusive, seeking potential winners beyond the big-name chefs in major restaurant cities and their protégés, who dominated the awards pre-pandemic.
The foundation has also changed criteria for the awards, requiring those nominating potential winners to make a statement about how the nominee is aligned with foundation’s values of “creating a more equitable, sustainable, and healthy work culture.”
Starting last year, candidates had to submit a supporting video or essay about their restaurants.
The foundation also has a code of ethics for winners.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
