Four South Carolina chefs and restaurateurs were named finalists for the 2024 James Beard Foundation's Restaurant and Chef Awards on April 3.
Considered the Oscars of the food world, the James Beard Awards finalist announcement came just over two months after 11 South Carolina nominees were named semifinalists on Jan. 24.
Finalists for the Restaurant and Chef Awards — which recognize exceptional talent and a commitment to equity, community and sustainability — are nominated across 22 categories, including Outstanding Restaurateur, Emerging Chef, Outstanding Bar and Best Chefs (by region).
Nikko Cagalanan of Kultura in Charleston was among the five chefs named as a finalist in the Emerging Chef category.
It's been a fast rise for the Filipino chef, who immigrated to the United States in 2011 and didn't become a full-time cook until 2014. In 2019, Cagalanan launched his Mansueta’s pop-up, a concept that paved the way for the opening of his first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Kultura, in July 2023.
"It's unbelievable. I don't believe that we're in this position right now," Cagalanan said, crediting his staff and fiancé Paula Kramer for helping him get to this point. "It's us, the restaurant is. It's all the staff we have."
James London, whose restaurant Chubby Fish is located just a few blocks away from Kultura in Charleston, was named a finalist in the Best Chef: Southeast category — an award previously won by FIG's Mike Lata and Lowland's Jason Stanhope.
The honor comes one day after Chubby Fish, which London owns with his wife Yoanna "YoYo" London, was named one of Food & Wine magazine's top 20 restaurants in the country.
"It's really a testament to this whole little ecosystem that we have here in Charleston," London told The Post and Courier from Vail, Colo., where he's cooking at food festival Taste of Vail this weekend. "We could not do what we do without the absolute best seafood in the country … Big props to our fishermen, big props to our farmers."
Head chef Nikko Cagalanan (from left) chats with Megan and Chris Onysko during the dinner shift at Kultura in Charleston on July 21, 2023.
Joining London as one of five chefs selected from Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia in the Best Chef: Southeast category is Robbie Robinson of City Limits BBQ in West Columbia, a Texas-style barbecue joint that opened last year as a brick-and-mortar after an incarnation as a food truck.
For Robinson, being recognized by the James Beard foundation had long been a dream but never felt like one near reality.
“I don’t remember visualizing a scenario where being a semifinalist for a James Beard Award happened because it was such a remote probability,” Robinson said. “But I knew James Beard was the symbol of excellence, though I never really dreamed it could happen.”
Columbia's Lula Drake Wine Parlour, which was nominated last year in a different category, is nominated in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages category. The downtown wine bar, known for its eclectic pours and delectable small plates, was nominated for Outstanding Hospitality in last year's awards.
"This is just astounding to me," Lula Drake's owner and head sommelier Tim Gardner told The Post and Courier. "When you look at that list of finalists and you see our city alongside those mega-cities, it's just phenomenal."
Gardner, whose wine bar will go up against four other restaurants in cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C., called wine "the backbone of what we do."
The James Beard Awards were established in 1990, combining the three most prestigious U.S. food awards at the time. Though the Palmetto State’s nominations have been plentiful over the years, the state has only made it to the podium in the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards category 10 times since the inaugural awards ceremony in May 1991.
One of South Carolina’s 10 Restaurant and Chef James Beard Award wins came in February, when Wade’s Restaurant earned the America’s Classics Award for the Southeast region. Given to locally owned restaurants that are “beloved regionally for quality food” and have “timeless appeal,” according to the foundation’s website, Bowens Island Restaurant (2006) and Bertha’s Kitchen (2017) previously took home the legacy award.
Before Wade’s, Rodney Scott (Best Chef: Southeast) and FIG (Outstanding Wine Program) were the most recent South Carolina James Beard recipients, taking home their awards in 2018.
James Beard Award voting is administered by a 26-person committee team, which leads a large group of judges who review nominations, taste food and provide scores before the awards are handed out. Ahead of the 2024 Restaurant and Chefs Awards ceremony, subcommittee members and judges will visit the finalists, participate in discussions and vote.
The top scoring chefs and restaurants will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Each finalist nominee will have the opportunity to travel to Chicago for the ceremony.
“It’s been wonderful to hear how (James Beard) Awards recognition has already benefited restaurants and businesses around the country," Dawn Padmore, vice president of awards at the James Beard Foundation, said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to use the Awards platform to highlight their impressive accomplishments and work in our industry.”
The James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards are one of five recognition programs of the James Beard Awards. In addition, the foundation hands out awards in Broadcast Media, Journalism, Leadership, Books and Restaurant Design. Media Awards nominees will be announced on April 30.
