RI Chef Named 2025 James Beard Winner

PROVIDENCE, RI — Sky Haneul Kim, of the restaurant Gift Horse in Providence, was honored at Monday’s James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

The awards, regarded as the Academy Awards of the U.S. restaurant industry, honor excellence across a range of categories, from fine dining to casual gems.

Kim won the award for Best Chef in the Northeast.

Gift Horse is a full-service raw bar and restaurant from chef/owner Benjamin Sukle, of Oberlin, a Providence restaurant that was also named a James Beard finalist. Gift Horse has a “strong focus on local shellfish, seafood, and daily catches from New England waters via raw bar dining in a style distinctive of Chef Sukle’s approach to seasonality, as well as the cultivated relationships he has with farmers and fishermen alike,” according to the restaurant’s website.

2025 is the 35th anniversary of the prestigious culinary awards that recognize eateries and chefs who create exceptional food, food media content, and better food systems, according to the James Beard Foundation. Awards also recognize a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive.

This year in celebration of the pivotal anniversary, the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards were presented across 25 categories, with an expanded focus on beverages, introducing three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

Other categories include outstanding restaurateur, outstanding chef, outstanding restaurant, emerging chef, best new restaurant, outstanding bakery, outstanding pastry chef or baker, outstanding hospitality, outstanding wine and other beverages program, outstanding bar and best chef.

Other Rhode Island restaurants and chefs were named semifinalists earlier this year were:

Outstanding Hospitality

• Robert Andreozzi, Pizza Marvin, Providence
• Subat Dilmurat, Jahunger, Providence
• Nick Rabar, Honeybird Kitchen & Cocktails, East Providence

Those from Rhode Island nominated as finalists included:

Outstanding Restaurant

Emerging Chef

• Nikhil Naiker, NIMKI, Providence

Best Chef (Northeast)

• Derek Wagner, Nicks on Broadway, Providence