Six Arizona chefs recognized as James Beard Awards® semifinalists

The 2025 James Beard Awards® nominations are out, and Arizona chefs are making their mark. In the Best Chef: Southwest category, there are six Arizona chefs on the list of semifinalists including Chef Stephen Jones and Chef Donald Hawk.

Both have received the nod before. Jones is the head of the larder + the delta, which focuses on Southern food. This Southern food is not the typical fried chicken and mac and cheese but rather a deep dive into the food of slaves using Arizona produce and proteins to tell a story. Jones recently took over the spot that was Binkley’s to open a re-imagined version of the larder + the delta.

The restaurant is now in it’s “maturation process,” Jones said. He says he wants people to know that Southern food does belong in fine dining and not just stereotypically known as the “heavy” or “soul” food.

“For us, it’s about watching where we started to where we are now and that journey and I think people dig what we’re doing,” Jones said.

Jones was also featured in a documentary titled, “The Story of Arizona’s Good Food,” now available to stream online. An insight into the story of Arizona’s local food and the dedication of the people who produce it, discover the secrets of mushroom cultivation, visit small and large farms, accompany indigenous foragers as they harvest the desert’s edible wild plants, witness as a farmer loses precious land to development and experience the opportunities and obstacles inherent in our local food system.

Chef Donald Hawk is in charge of Valentine, a love letter to Arizona. Hawk oversees the all-day menu, which relies on Arizona flavors for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Hawk’s pastry chef who works at the Valentine qualified for the third year in a row as one of the competition’s finalists. He said he’s “very honored and fortunate to be nominated along with her this year.”

“We don’t cook for awards, we cook because we truly love it,” Hawk said.

To view the full list of semifinalists, visit the James Beard Foundation’s website.