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

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.

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.