We all know New Jersey has great Italian food and Jewish delis. Now two Garden State chefs who specialize in those cuisines are up for major awards.
The 2026 James Beard Awards, semifinalists were announced Wednesday, and two of the state’s best chefs earned regional nominations. David Viana of Judy & Harry’s in Asbury Park and Russ Cowan of Radin’s Delicatessen in Cherry Hill were both named semifinalists in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category — a region that encompasses Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
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Viana, who rose to stardom on TV’s “Top Chef,” has developed an impressive stable of restaurants throughout New Jersey. Judy & Harry’s, for which he’s nominated, opened last year and fuses Italian and Jewish cuisine. He was nominated for this same award last year for Lita, the modern Iberian restaurant in Aberdeen. In 2024 it was named a semifinalist for the national best new restaurant award by the same body. He also owns Heirloom Kitchen in Old Bridge.
Cowan has been one of the biggest names in Philadelphia’s Jewish deli scene for nearly four decades. He’s operated nearly 20 restaurants in the region, namely Famous 4th Street Delicatessen in Center City, which he sold to open Radin’s in 2024. While this specific deli has less than a year of history, it’s named for Radin Brothers — the deli his family opened on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1905.
Finalists will be announced March 31, and winners will be crowned June 15 at an award ceremony in Chicago.
There have been 11 James Beard Award-winning chefs and restaurants in New Jersey. Most recently, Corrine’s Place in Camden won an American Classics award in 2022, an honor given “to locally owned restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community.”
Dining and Cooking