The 2025 James Beard nominees are here, and bits of Boston can be found sprinkled all throughout the list. From top shelf bars to creative culinary minds, these are our three local nominees.
Outstanding Chef: Cassie Piuma | Sarma | Somerville, MA
According to her bio, Chef Piuma is an east coast product as a Duxbury-native and graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence. She sharpened her skills under James Beard Award winning chef Ana Sortun and those years have paid off in her own nominations in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and now 2025.
Best New Bar: Merai | Brookline, MA
This Thai-inspired bar has lived up to its pre-opening hype that folks were so hotly anticipating. It puts elegant twists on familiar dive bar favorites, such as its boujee hot dog made with krapaw sausage, salted egg yolk mayo, and caramelized basil onion.
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT): Erin Miller | Urban Hearth | Cambridge, MA
According to her bio, Chef Miller was classically trained at the French Culinary Institute of New York. Since opening this restaurant in 2016, it’s been dubbed one of Boston’s “best kept secrets,” but we’re guessing the highly touted nomination will blow the lid off that insider info.
