Filipino-American Chef Lord Maynard Llera Bags James Beard Best Chef Award 2024
At his restaurant Kuya Lord in LA, the chef pays ode to his hometown of Lucena City.
(SPOT.ph) Food will always have a special place in every Filipino's heart, evident in our fellow men's skills in the kitchen that continue to receive accolades from all over the globe. Today we celebrate another amazing achievement: Filipino-American chef Lord Maynard Llera was named the Best Chef in the state at the James Beard Foundation Awards this 2024!
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Filipino-American chef Lord Maynard Llera of Kuya Lord, California on the James Beard Awards 2024
Winners of the 2024 James Beard Chef and Restaurant Awards were announced at a special ceremony held June 10th at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. And under the Best Chefs category by region, repping California, is Lord Maynard Llera of modern Filipino spot Kuya Lord in Los Angeles. This is a great achievement for the chef, who shared how winning would "mean a lot to me and the restaurant because it will give highlights to Filipino cuisine for pushing forward" in an interview with the Los Angeles Times on his nomination last April.
Llera was born in Quezon Province and moved to the U.S. in 2004, studying at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and working for the likes of Los-Angeles based hospitality venture The h.wood Group. After leaving the said group, the chef sought to open his very own dining spot—and from doing pop-ups serving Southern Tagalog food around L.A. (which caught the attention of the Los Angeles Times), he got the opportunity to open Kuya Lord as a brick-and-mortar spot on Melrose Avenue in 2022. Described as an "elevated fast casual restaurant concept," the restaraurant serves regional Filipino dishes Llera grew up eating in his hometown of Lucena City; it was also included in the Los Angeles Times' list of 101 Best Restaurants in 2023.
The James Beard Foundation awards has been around since 1990, and is all about recognizing "exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system." They likewise strive to push for "racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive."
For more information, check out the website of the James Beard Foundation Awards and Kuya Lord.
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