Carlos Delgado, the chef at Blagden Alley Peruvian eating places Causa and Amazonia, is our space’s newest winner of a Finest Chef: Mid-Atlantic James Beard award. On the Monday night time ceremony in Chicago, the Lima native took the stage with chef de delicacies Alex Lazo standing behind him holding a Peruvian flag. “This entire factor is an immigrant dream, an immigrant story” Delgado stated. “I migrated right here in 2001 or 2002, and it is a dream of mine since I used to be somewhat child.”
Delgado famous that Causa and its extra informal upstairs bar Amazonia, took three and a half years to get off the bottom earlier than it debuted in Might 2022, and nearly didn’t open in any respect. The seafood-focused tasting room has gathered a number of accolades in its brief life, together with the #1 spot on Washingtonian’s 2024 100 Very Finest Eating places record, a Michelin star, and a Rammy award for nice eating restaurant of the yr.
Regardless of some big-deal nominations, it was an in any other case quiet night time for DC on the meals world’s most high-profile award ceremony (particularly in comparison with final yr’s displaying). Moon Rabbit’s Susan Bae misplaced the Excellent Pastry Chef award to Tulsa’s Cat Cox. Plant-based Shaw eating room Mita was bested within the New Restaurant class by Minneapolis’s Bucheron. And the Excellent Restaurateur award, one of many night’s high prizes, went to New York’s Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr of Frenchette and Le Veau d’Or, not Anju/Chiko’s Danny Lee and Scott Drewno. Henji Cheung, chef/co-owner of Columbia Heights restaurant Queen’s English, was additionally a contender for the Finest Chef: Mid-Atlantic medal.
The James Beard Media Awards have been introduced at a separate ceremony held on Saturday. There, Washington Submit meals editor Joe Yonan received the Vegetable-Based mostly Cooking class for his cookbook Mastering the Artwork of Plant-Based mostly Cooking. And pastry chef Paola Velez—as soon as a finalist for a Beard Rising Star chef award—was lauded for her cookbook Bodega Bakes within the Rising Voice class.
Discover a full record of 2025 James Beard award winners right here.
Government Meals Editor/Critic
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was beforehand an editorial assistant at Leisure Weekly and a cook dinner in New York restaurant kitchens, and she or he is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Schooling. She lives in Petworth.
