Ann Arbor chef, restaurant make cut as 2025 James Beard semifinalists – MLive.com
Ji Hye Kim poses in her restaurant, Miss Kim, after being named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021.Alyte Katilius | MLive.comANN ARBOR, MI – A well-known Ann Arbor chef and restaurant are once again being considered for the prestigious honor of the James Beard Awards.The James Beard Foundation announced its 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists on Jan. 22. Miss Kim’s Chef Ji Hye Kim and Spencer are just two of the 10 other Michigan restaurants and chefs to be a part of the semifinalists for the award, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary.Read more: 10 Michigan restaurants nominated for Super Bowl of food awards: James BeardThese awards “recognize exceptional talent in the culinary and food media industries,” according to its website. The 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists are recognized across 25 categories.Kim snagged a semifinalist spot for Best Chef in the Great Lakes region while Spencer was one of 20 restaurants to be a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.Miss Kim at 415 N. Fifth Ave., is known for specializing in Korean cuisine with dishes like bibimbap and tteok-bokki. Kim opened the restaurant in 2016 through a partnership with Zingerman’s.This is Kim’s fifth year as a semifinalist for the awards, she said, adding every recognition is an honor. She’s hopeful this is the year she will move on to the next step of the process.“The fact that we (have been) nominated multiple years speaks to the consistency of the restaurant which is definitely one of our goals,” she said. “I’m very happy about that.”Spencer, 113 E. Liberty St., focuses on serving natural wines made in smaller productions with organic ingredients. The business is also known for its menu, designed by co-owner and chef Abby Olitzky.The restaurant first gained its semifinalist distinction for the awards in 2023 and landed among the finalist nominees that year. This is the group’s third consecutive year being nominated.Related: Ann Arbor’s Spencer is James Beard Award finalist for the first timeCo-owner of Spencer Steven Hall said he is once again honored the Ann Arbor restaurant has been chosen to be a semifinalist for another year.“It is so nice to be included because Ann Arbor is not a big place, and we love the opportunity to stand out and have the community recognized just as much as our own efforts,” he said.Hall is excited for what is next, but, ultimately, is proud of those who made this nomination possible.“We are a program that really focuses on a lot of small producers and wine growers so it’s really nice to have people celebrate their efforts because, ultimately, they’re the ones who make the wines,” he said.Finalists will be announced Wednesday, April 2, followed by the announcement of the winners at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Ann Arbor” daily newsletter.If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.YouTube’s privacy policy is available here and YouTube’s terms of service is available here.Ad Choices
