The forty third annual Rammy Awards, higher often called the Oscars of D.C.’s restaurant world, had been considerably overshadowed by one controversial mishap involving two gifted Asian American cooks who had been up for a similar class. Throughout Sunday evening’s black-tie soiree on the Walter E. Washington Conference Middle, the newly topped Pastry Chef of the 12 months, Alicia Wang (La’ Shukran, Yellow, Albi), was incorrectly recognized with a photograph of fellow nominee Susan Bae (Moon Rabbit). The blatantly apparent error appeared in each the shiny program distributed to visitors upon arrival after which aired dwell on a jumbotron for all to see throughout the ceremony.
The Rammy Awards’ host, Restaurant Affiliation Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), responded to the state of affairs the next day. “We sincerely apologize for making this unlucky mistake and the hurt that it has prompted,” per a prolonged assertion posted to its Instagram account on Monday night. “What occurred unfairly took away from what ought to have been a well-deserved second of pleasure for Chef Alicia.”
The egregious snafu tied to one of many evening’s many classes was instantly observed, mentioned, and slammed by business and media attendees throughout the occasion and into the next day. It stays unclear how the error was really made and neglected on not just one, however two, seen platforms.
Wang was current on the Rammys however didn’t take the stage when her identify was introduced. Her co-workers accepted the award on her behalf, awkwardly acknowledging the misplaced photograph of Bae displayed behind them on the display. Bae, the two-time James Beard Award finalist for the nation’s Greatest Pastry Chef, was not in attendance as a result of she was in New England for a beforehand scheduled dinner.
Neither nominee responded to Eater’s request for remark concerning the incident, however Bae did allude to her frustration over the photograph mix-up in a late-Sunday Instagram story, writing phrases like “upset” and “nonsense again in D.C.,” accompanied by an image of a sugary fritter.
Korean American chef Danny Lee (Anju, Chiko) shortly stood up for the understandably embarrassed nominees in an Instagram story, reposting a selfie with Wang to congratulate her on the Rammy win.
Some responses on RAMW’s ready feedback steered its delayed injury management missed the mark. “Why not additionally make this apology a carousel with the right awardee and photograph,” with the hashtags “easy” and “restorative,” wrote @tcresidential. Per @juuudyhong: “publicly complicated Asians on an institutional stage in 2025?? Embarrassing.” One other account, @dcpiffle, took a extra productive strategy, proposing RAMW make a donation of their identify to a corporation that advantages Asian American and Pacific Islanders culinary creatives, equivalent to Cooks Stopping AAPI Hate.
RAMW, which employed a brand new public relations agency (Hyperlink Strategic Companions) to execute this yr’s Rammy Awards after working with a unique one for a while, communicated its want to make issues proper with Wang, Bae, and their respective groups. “We’re firmly dedicated to each an ongoing dialogue with them and a revision of course of that may assist guarantee these errors don’t happen once more sooner or later,” reads the assertion.
It wasn’t the one indelible dent within the occasion, nonetheless.
A D.C. restaurant publicist drew Eater’s consideration to the misspelling of her late shopper’s identify within the memoriam portion of this system. Luis Lezama, an ordained priest and founding father of downtown’s decades-old Spanish stalwart Taberna del Alabardero, died in January at age 88; his final identify was incorrectly written within the pamphlet and on the display as “Lezam.”
