Phoenix chef Yotaka 'Sunny' Martin of Lom Wong wins James Beard Award

The Phoenix chef won in the category of Best Chef - Southwest at the 2025 James Beard Awards.

June 16, 2025

Image: Lom Wong chef and co-owner Yotaka "Sunny" Martin can now add James Beard Award winner to her resume.

Lom Wong chef and co-owner Yotaka "Sunny" Martin can now add James Beard Award winner to her resume. Jacob Tyler Dunn

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The most talented folks in food gathered at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday night for the 2025 James Beard Awards ceremony hosted by chefs Nyesha Arrington and Andrew Zimmern.

Six months after the semifinalists were announced, the winners of this year's Oscars of food took home their medals.

In January, the semifinalists were announced, and 15 Arizona names were recognized. In April, those pools were whittled down to the nominees, and two Phoenix chefs were in the mix.

On Monday night, chef Yotaka "Sunny" Martin won in the category of Best Chef - Southwest. She is the chef and co-owner of downtown Phoenix Thai restaurant Lom Wong.

The Best Chef Southwest category includes chefs in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Oklahoma. Last year, Bacanora chef Rene Andrade won the category for his skillful Sonoran-style live-fire cooking. Other Valley chefs who have won the category over the years are FnB's Charleen Badman and Hai Noon's Nobuo Fukuda.

click to enlarge

Martin's mom taught her many of the techniques and recipes she uses at Lom Wong.

Jacob Tyler Dunn

This is the second time Martin has been recognized in the category. In 2023, she was named as a semifinalist for her continued work sharing recipes from regions across Thailand with Phoenix. Martin pulls inspiration from family recipes she learned from her mother and grandmother growing up in Chiang Rai, in northern Thailand, and from travels throughout the country she takes with her husband and business partner, Alex Martin.

This year's awards come at a busy time for Martin, her restaurant and her family. The Martins are expecting their second child. They also run a second concept behind Lom Wong, called Mr. Baan's Bar and Mookata, and have recently been testing recipes for the restaurant's summer menu.

Now, they have something extra to celebrate as Martin brings home the medal for Best Chef - Southwest.

Tirion Boan is the Food Editor of Phoenix New Times where she’s worked since May 2022. Tirion keeps a close eye on restaurant openings and closings, offers dining recommendations and reports on metro Phoenix food news and trends. She also publishes major annual lists like Top 100 Bars and Top 100 Restaurants, and contributes to the Best of Phoenix project. Tirion previously worked for publications including The Arizona Republic and The Tucson Weekly. She holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from the University of Arizona.

A message from Tirion Boan: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Phoenix's evolving dining scene and the chefs and restaurants that serve our community.

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