Kuya Lord chef Lord Maynard Llera gained the James Beard Award for Finest Chef: California within the 2024 ceremony held on June 10 in Chicago. That is his first James Beard Award win, and the one award Los Angeles has taken residence this 12 months. On June 8, the James Beard Basis hosted its media awards celebrating excellent journalism, the most effective cookbooks of the 12 months, and extra.
Llera was nominated for the Finest Chef award on April 3, 2024 together with Geoff Davis (of Oakland's Burdell), Rogelio Garcia (of Napa Valley's Auro), Tara Monsod (of San Diego's Animae) and Buu “Billy” Ngo (of Sacramento Kru). The James Beard Basis Restaurant and Chef Awards are thought of very prestigious and are sometimes known as the “Oscars of meals”, invented by a chef in 1991 by Ruth Reichl. Los Angeles Occasions report protecting the inaugural ceremony.
Kuya Lord began as a pop-up for Llera, which moved the enterprise to a everlasting retailer in Melrose Hill in 2022. With a Filipino-focused menu, the informal counter-order restaurant with about 20 seats serves traditional wooden. fiery dishes like lucenachon (slow-cooked pork stomach), lechon kawali (twice-cooked pork stomach), and New Caledonian prawns brushed with garlic crab sauce. Kuya Lord has acquired quite a few accolades prior to now two years, together with touchdown on the Los Angeles Occasions' 101 Finest Eating places and Bon appetit 24 Finest New Eating places for 2023. As probably the most acclaimed eating places in Los Angeles' increasing Filipino eating scene, this award places Kuya Lord on the nationwide map alongside Chicago's tasting menu restaurant Kasama and the Musang of Seattle.
The 2024 awards program additionally noticed Sturdy Water Anaheim obtain a nomination for Excellent Wine and Different Beverage Program and Gusto Bread for Excellent Bakery, however neither gained of their respective classes. Final 12 months, Los Angeles took residence three James Beard awards, with Margarita Manzke profitable for Excellent Pastry Chef or Baker, Anajak Thai's Justin Pichetrungsi for Finest Chef: West, and Ototo for Excellent Wine or Different Drinks. Final 12 months, 2022, Los Angeles was closed from any victories utterly.
Though the James Beard awards are thought of a number of the most prestigious awards in hospitality, this system was the topic of an inside audit in 2021 after being beneath scrutiny for allegations of mistreatment and abuse towards the nominated cooks, and the dearth of nominated and profitable black cooks amongst cooks. the classes. The audit resulted in a dedication to extend variety amongst candidates, a brand new course of for dealing with allegations of abuse towards cooks, and extra. The awards program was canceled in 2020 and 2021, earlier than returning in 2022.