Today on our episode #418 of All in the Industry, Shari Bayer has a special “On the Road” show from the 2025 James Beard Restaurant & Chef Awards, which took place on Monday, June 16, 2025 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Chicago, IL. This was Shari's 5th year covering the awards on the red carpet, & she has exclusive interviews with presenters, nominees & winners, along with video coverage, including David Bowen, Toni Tipton-Martin (Lifetime Achievement Award), Junghyun “JP” Park & Ellia Park (Outstanding Hospitality), CEO Clare Reichenbach, Nyesha Arrington, Rick Bayless, Amanda Shulman, Dale DeGroff, Sarah Thompson, Dan Richer, Tristen Epps, Chad Williams, Sherry Yard, Matthew Kammerer, Daniel Boulud, & Adam Richman.

Shari's coverage continues in the press room with interviews including #JBFA winners Phila Lorn (Emerging Chef), Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez (Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service), Arjav Ezekiel (Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service), Julia Momose (Outstanding Bar), Jon Yao (Best Chef: California), Nando Chang (Best Chef: South), Vijay Kumar (Best Chef: New York State), Karyn Tomlinson (Best Chef: Midwest), Lee Hanson & Riad Nasr (Outstanding Restaurateur), Bobby Stuckey (Outstanding Restaurant), & Jungsik Yim (Outstanding Chef). 

Shari also has two interviews from the Media Awards, which took place on Saturday, June 14 at Columbia College Chicago, with Peter Miller for Marcella film (Best Documentary), & Ashok Selvan from Eater Chicago (Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award).

Congratulations to all!  Shari once again loved being a part of the celebration!  Follow links for 2025 James Beard Awards Restaurant & Chef Nominees, Winners, & Media Award Winners. Check out our "All in the Industry" YouTube Channel for our Awards video content.

Today's show also features Shari's PR tip to practice patience; and Solo Dining experience at Maxwells Trading in Chicago (Nominee: Best Chef: Great Lakes). (1:31:52 )

Support for this episode comes from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). To learn more, visit ICE.edu today.

Find all of our new & archived shows at AllintheIndustry.com. Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts; subscribe & leave us a rating/review.

Follow us @allindustry & @sharibayer on Instagram, & "All in the Industry" on Facebook & our YouTube Channel.

Interested in collaborating with us? Please reach out via our contact page at AllintheIndustry.com, or on social. We'd love to hear from you!

Check out Shari's book, Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World (Phaidon), available wherever books are sold. #chefwisebook

Thanks, as always, for being a part of All in the Industry®!