James Beard Award finalists announced: Obelix, Kasama among the nominees

The James Beard Foundation on Wednesday announced the finalists for its 2023 restaurant and chef awards.

While Chicago did not dominate the category of best chef Great Lakes region as it has in the past, nominations went to chef/owner Diana Dávila of Logan Square’s hidden gem Mi Tocaya Antojería, and chefs/owners Tim Flores and Genie Kwon of the Michelin-starred, modern Filipino powerhouse Kasama in east Ukrainian Village. (Kasama was nominated for best new restaurant in 2022.)

Chicago is also represented in the category of best new restaurant, with one of the category’s 10 nominations going to Obelix, the tony modern French eatery in River North.

Chef de cuisine Damarr Brown of Hyde Park’s renowned Virtue Restaurant & Bar is among the nominees in the category of emerging chef. (The restaurant’s chef/owner Erick Williams won best chef Great Lakes region last year.)

The Michelin-starred Sepia restaurant, chef Andrew Zimmerman’s crown jewel in the West Loop, is one of the five nominees in the category of outstanding hospitality.

Also announced Wednesday are the recipients of Humanitarian of the Year, awarded to Olivia Watkins and Karen Washington, co-founders of the Black Farmer Fund, and the Lifetime Achievement Award to multi-cookbook author (including “An Invitation to Indian Cooking,” which was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2006), teacher and actress Madhur Jaffrey, CBE.

The James Beard Awards are considered to be the Oscars of the culinary world, recognizing achievements within the industry across the country.

The winners will be announced on June 5 at a gala ceremony at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr. Tickets for the event will go on sale at 4 p.m. March 31 at squadup.com.