A big announcement came from the James Beard Foundation on Wednesday as the New York City–based culinary organization named its 2025 Chef and Restaurant Award nominees in 14 food, beverage, and hospitality categories. The foundation introduced three new categories this year—Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service—in honor of its 35th anniversary. Several Colorado chefs, beverage specialists, and businesses got nods:

  • Josh Niernberg of Bin 707 (Grand Junction), Outstanding Chef
  • Frasca Food and Wine (Boulder), Outstanding Restaurant
  • Alma Fonda Fina (Denver), Best New Restaurant
  • Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos of Poulette Bakeshop (Parker), Best Pastry Chef or Baker
  • McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright of Yacht Club (Denver), Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
  • Penelope Wong of Yuan Wonton (Denver), Best Chef: Mountain

But wait, didn’t the James Beard Awards just release a list of winners a couple of months ago? Those were the semifinalists, a larger group announced in January from which this week’s honorees were chosen. Among the Colorado semifinalists who didn’t make the next cut were Traveling Mercies (Aurora) for Best New Bar, Hop Alley (Denver) for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, and Anna Nguyen and Ni Nguyen of Sắp Sửa (Denver) for Emerging Chef.

Read more: Hop Alley Still Has It 10 Years In

The January semifinalists list also included five other Best Chef: Mountain semifinalists, mostly from Denver: Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati of Lucina Eatery & Bar, Bo Porytko of Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails, Paul C. Reilly of Coperta, Kenneth Wan of MAKfam, and Hosea Rosenberg of Blackbelly in Boulder.

This week’s finalists are now eligible for a James Beard Award and have been invited to attend a live awards ceremony—essentially the Oscars of the hospitality industry—in Chicago on June 16. All of the categories other than Best Chef: Mountain (which covers Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming) include the entire country, so Colorado’s crème de la crème are up against competition from major culinary hubs like New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Elk tartare topped with creamy yellow sauce, puffy crisp, and salad greens.
The elk tartare with puffed tendon at Bin 707. Photo by Mark Antonation

So, is it valuable to pit locales as disparate as Grand Junction and Washington, D.C., against each other to vie for a single award? A James Beard Award in any category is a definite mark of prestige, and it also brings attention to the food scenes of cities where winners are located. Josh Niernberg, chef-owner of Bin 707 and Tacoparty in Grand Junction, says making the original list of semifinalists was a big deal, especially considering he and his team work in relative isolation, far removed from the big cities that regularly earn culinary accolades. “When we were named as semifinalists, that’s all I had really hoped to accomplish,” he says. “It’s really difficult for us, given where we are and what we do, to even be relevant. So it’s pretty surreal.”

Niernberg adds that the recognition is also meaningful to the farms, ranches, and wineries in the Grand Valley that he relies on to build a menu of local produce, meats, and wines—something that helps Bin 707 stand out among the competition.

Penelope Wong, who opened her brick-and-mortar dumpling spot Yuan Wonton in Park Hill less than two years ago, says the nomination is acknowledgment of what she’s tried to do for her staff and her neighborhood as a business owner as well as a chef. “We’re not doing this to get rich,” she says. “We’ve had an incredible amount of support from our community. But I’m not going to be open every day—I’m just not. When you get to that level of grinding it just becomes a job for all of us.”

Read more: Your Guide to (Almost) Every Dumpling at Yuan Wonton

Wong admits that new customers (of which there have been many this spring) can find the hours and ever-changing menu a little confusing, but she’s dedicated to ensuring work-life balance for her team and herself—and to having fun with developing new menu items.

A woman in a winter coat and hat faces a man in a dark gray shirt in front of a graffiti mural.
Mary Allison Wright and McLain Hedges of Yacht Club. Photo courtesy of RiNo Yacht Club

At Yacht Club, a cocktail bar that serves hot dogs alongside intricately concocted beverages, owners Mary Allison Wright and McLain Hedges are thrilled that they can be silly with their brand, but still be taken seriously. “I never thought we’d find ourselves in this position,” Hedges says. “But Denver has allowed us to be ourselves, and that’s so important to us.”

For these professionals, a James Beard Award (or even a nomination) means national recognition and a boost to business. That’s great for Colorado too, since it draws talented industry employees to the state and raises the level of quality all around.

But for diners, the original January list of semifinalists may be the best tool when seeking out good eats and drinks. That longer roster of restaurants, bars, and bakeries has been thoroughly vetted by the bigwigs, making it a perfect springboard for your next few months of exploration. When’s the last time you were in Parker (if you don’t live there)? Poulette Bakeshop gives you a reason to go. Did you know that Ukrainian cuisine is having a moment at Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails? And if you’re hitting the highways to explore the Western Slope, now you can add Bin 707 to your itinerary. Whether Colorado’s James Beard selections come home with medals or not, we’re certain you’ll find something delicious at the tables, bars, and counters of every honoree.