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The James Beard Foundation announced the winners last weekend.
Among them, Harley Peet, of Bas Rouge in Easton, MD; Michael Rafaidi, of Albi in Washington DC; and Masako Morishita, of Perry's in Washington DC.
Peet won Best Chef, Rafidi won outstanding chef, and Morishita won emerging chef.
Peet is the first chef on Maryland's Eastern Shore to win a James Beard Award, Peet graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 2002. He was hired to helm the culinary program for Bluepoint Hospitality in 2014 when it was just starting out.
He is fulfilled by serving fish caught from the Chesapeake just hours prior and selecting seasonal produce from local famers, according to his bio on his restaurant's website.
Rafidi owns Michelin-starred Albi in the Navy Yard, which opened just before the pandemic. His bio on the restaurant website says Albi offers a modern take on traditional Arab cuisine. His family has roots in Ramallah, Palestine, and much of the menu was inspired by his grandparents' home cooking.
Masako Morishita spent time as a cheerleader for the Washington Commanders. According to IndieChefs.com, Morishita was raised in Japan, where she often helped in her family's kitchen and learned to make Japanese comfort food from her mother and grandmother.
Her goal of bringing Japanese cuisine to the U.S. began in 2019 with OTABE, a pop-up restaurant rooted in her favor childhood flavors. In 2021, Morishita began working as the executive chef of Maxwell Park, where she cooks her take on her family's recipes.
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