2025 Colorado James Beard Semifinalists Announced

Fourteen local chefs and restaurants made the cut.

January 22, 2025

Sắp Sửa's Ni and Anna Nguyen are Emerging Chef semifinalists. Casey Wilson

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The James Beard Award semifinalists for 2025 have been announced, and Colorado is well-represented. In both 2023 and 2024, the state had thirteen semifinalists in the mix. This year, that number increased to fourteen, and this time around, the honorees are spread across nine categories.

After being shut out of the final awards in 2023, Coloradans won big last year as chef Matt Vawter of Rootstalk and Radicato in Breckenridge nabbed Best Chef: Mountain Region, and Id Est Hospitality Group founders Kelly and Erika Whitaker took home a huge honor: Outstanding Restaurateur. Last year, the group brought Oklahoma City restaurant Nonesuch, which is among the semifinalists for Outstanding Restaurant.

The 2025 semifinalist list includes a few familiar local names — like Boulder's Frasca, which is up for Outstanding Restaurant on the heels of its twentieth anniversary. There are also some newer names, including several that made our roster of people and places to watch in the food scene, like Sắp Sửa owners Ni and Anna Nguyen, who are semifinalists in the Emerging Chef category, and Alma Fonda Fina from Johnny and Kasie Curiel in the Best New Restaurant category.

Here's the complete list of 2025 James Beard Award Semifinalists from Colorado:

black and white photo of a person pouring wine

Frasca is a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant.

Frasca

Outstanding Chef
Josh Niernberg, Bin 707 Foodbar, Grand Junction

Outstanding Restaurant
Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder

Emerging Chef
Anna Nguyen and Ni Nguyen, Sắp Sửa

Best New Restaurant
Alma Fonda Fina

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos, Poulette Bakeshop, Parker

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Hop Alley

Best New Bar
Traveling Mercies, Aurora

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright, Yacht Club

Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati, Lucina Eatery & Bar
Bo Porytko, Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails
Paul C. Reilly, Coperta
Hosea Rosenberg, Blackbelly
Kenneth Wan, MAKfam
Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton

Molly Martin has been the Food & Drink editor at Westword since 2021. Prior to joining the staff, Molly reported on the Denver dining scene for more than a decade and contributed to Thrillist. At Westword, Molly monitors restaurant openings and closings, offers dining recommendations and reports on Denver-area food news and trends. She also publishes such annual lists as Top 100 Bars and Top 100 Restaurants, and contributes to the yearly Best of Denver edition. In 2023, she was recognized with the Colorado Restaurant Association's Outstanding Media Professional award.

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