Meet the 2025 Food & Wine Best New Chefs

Dear Pros,

Hunter here. It's Food & Wine Best New Chefs Day, one of the headiest and most rewarding launches of every year. Today we welcome the 2025 class into an elite community of 399 BNCs who have shaped the arc of dining culture in America since F&W launched the accolade in 1988.

Congratulations to Mariela Camacho (Comadre Panadería, Austin); Vinnie Cimino (Cordelia, Cleveland); Telly Justice (HAGS, New York City); Jordan Rubin (Mr. Tuna and Bar Futo, Portland, Maine); Yotaka Martin (Lom Wong, Phoenix); Phila Lorn (Mawn, Philadelphia); Aretah Ettarh (Gramercy Tavern, NYC); Colby Rasavong (Bad Idea, Nashville); Kelly Jacques (Ayu Bakehouse, New Orleans); and Steve Joo (Joodooboo, Oakland).

They are not just BNCs because of the world-class quality of the food they put on a plate; they earned the BNC accolade because they are already dynamic leaders and community builders. Check out our special digital feature sponsored by Oceania to read more about them and the history of the franchise, follow along here as we share videos from each restaurant, and listen to this week's Tinfoil Swans podcast, where my colleague Kat Kinsman and I talk about the selection process and what it feels like when you know during your dinner that the chef who cooked it is BNC material.

Last night, the new class met for the first time to kick off the F&W BNC Mentorship Program (sponsored by Yeti and Resy) at 2023 BNC Ed Syzmanski and Patricia Howard's NYC restaurant Lord's. This morning, fueled by pastries from Trigg Brown's ('20) Win Son Bakery, and with phones buzzing as news of the award broke, we hunkered down to talk about personal and professional development. We know from experience that the BNC accolade can change careers overnight, so we convened with peers who have experienced this to help our new class map out the year of growth and opportunity ahead.

Andrew Carmellini ('00), Szymanski and Howard, Paola Velez ('21), and Isabel Coss ('23) joined hospitality lawyer Jasmine Moy, Southern Smoke Foundation executive director Lindsey Brown, and chief partner officer of Resy, Tock, and American Express Global Dining Aaron Ginsberg, to share insights and advice with the new class. F&W "editor in chef" Chris Shepherd ('13) will share highlights from the Mentorship Program with you in Saturday's Pro newsletter.

The whirlwind continues tonight when we’ll celebrate the 2025 class at Daniel Boulud's ('88) steakhouse Le Tete D'or, where Jess Shadbolt ('18), Camari Mick ('24), and Alex Stupak ('13) are also cooking. I promise I'm not name dropping here. BNCs are the chef equivalent of the Avengers or the Justice League (pick your fandom), and more of them will come together in one room tonight than ever before.

Call it a bulwark against AI. Call it one helluva party. Whatever you call it, I know deep down in my soul from eight years of doing this job is that magical things happen when BNCs come together. We are working intentionally to knit each class into one community that will gather more regularly to network and share their creative brilliance and craft with you and one another.

Congratulations to the new class of Best New Chefs. As the train rolls on with Restaurant Month here at F&W, look for print profiles of them in the beautiful new October Restaurant Issue in your mailboxes and on newsstands next week—stay tuned for information in the upcoming F&W Pro Newsletters. And when you're on the road this fall and looking for something delicious to eat, start with a restaurant helmed by a BNC.

Warmly,
Hunter