As in past years, the James Beard Foundation has posted an open call for recommendations from industry professionals and the general public for the awards committee to consider when building the list of semifinalists for 2025.
The entry and recommendation period for the 2025 James Beard Awards…is officially open! We’re looking for chefs, beverage experts, creators, and culinary and food system leaders who could be the next James Beard Award winners…Whether you published a cookbook in the last year, own a restaurant, or advocate for food system change, we encourage you to submit your entries and recommend your talented colleagues.
A notable change from last year is the addition of three new awards categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. These are in addition to the existing categories of Outstanding Bar and Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.
The deadline to submit recommendations is Friday, November 29th and if the process follows the pattern from 2023 and 2024 then we can expect to see the semifinalist list come out in late January.
Reference these PDFs for guidelines on the chef and restaurant awards categories, and for insight into the overall awards process. Also check out this list we maintain on Portland Food Map for a list of past award winners, nominees and semifinalists from Maine.
To create an account and submit your recommendations visit: jamesbeardawards.awardsplatform.com