Here Are Las Vegas’s 2025 James Beard Award Finalists

Delilah. | Robert Miller Las Vegas was recognized with three James Beard nominations this year The nominations have finally dropped, and Las Vegas has three chefs and restaurants recognized as finalists at the 2025 James Beard Foundation Awards. On April 2, the James Beard Foundation announced nominations for the restaurant and chef categories. These nominations are trimmed down from the initial, more extensive Beards semifinalist list, which the Beards foundation revealed in January; Las Vegas was only recognized in two categories among the semifinalist list. Las Vegas’s finalists for the 2025 James Beard Awards this year are Cristie Norman (Delilah) for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Sarah Thompson (Casa Playa) and Eleazar Villanueva (Restaurant de Joël Robuchon) for Best Chef: Southwest. The James Beard Awards, often referred to as “the Oscars of food,” are among the most prestigious awards in the food and hospitality industry. Each year, the James Beard Foundation restaurants, bars, and hospitality professionals in categories like Outstanding Restaurant, Best Chef, and Best New Chef. This year’s awards bring three brand-new categories into the mix: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. The first James Beard Awards ceremony was held in 1991, with chefs like Rick Bayless, Nancy Silverton, and Wolfgang Puck walking away as winners. In recent years, the awards have been under increased scrutiny after canceling its programming in 2020 and 2021 due to misbehavior and abuse allegations against nominated chefs, and a lack of nominated and winning Black chefs among the categories. In response, the James Beard Foundation conducted an internal audit to make its voting processes more inclusive and equitable before returning in 2022. In recent years, the awards have shifted the Best Chef category to a regional model to better recognize the diversity and depth of talent. Winners will be announced on June 16 at the awards ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Here are the 2025 James Beard Award finalists for Las Vegas: Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service Cristie Norman, Delilah, Las Vegas, Nevada Best Chef: Southwest Sarah Thompson, Casa Playa, Las Vegas, Nevada Eleazar Villanueva, Restaurant de Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas, Nevada Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2025. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation.