D.C. sweeps the 2024 James Beard Awards

🏆 Zoom in: Arguably the biggest award of the night — a hugely competitive national category, delivered last — went to Rafidi, who won for Outstanding Chef.

• Rafidi, a Palestinian American who grew up in the D.C. area, dedicated the award "to Palestinians, and all the people out there, whether it's here, Palestine, or all over the world."
• His restaurant, which opened in Navy Yard just before the pandemic, also has a Michelin star for its wood-fired Levantine cooking. He's expanding to Union Market soon.

Between the lines: Oyster Oyster chef Rob Rubba, who presented the award, won last year.

🏅 More wins: Morishita clinched another competitive national category for rising stars, last won locally by Kwame Onwuachi in 2019. The former Washington Commanders cheerleader has been making waves at the 40-year-old Adams Morgan restaurant since taking over the kitchen last year.

• If you've tasted her knockout Japanese breakfasts, garlic-edamame dumplings, and udon carbonara, you know why.

What they're saying: "This is my wildest American dream," the Japanese native tells Axios' Monica Eng. Morishita didn't win for fancy omakase, but Japanese comfort food — a style lesser known here, but "a cuisine that Japanese moms and husbands cook for their families."

• "This is a win for all the Japanese moms and immigrant women," she tells Axios.

👏 And more wins: The super competitive regional Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category went to Harley Peet of Bas Rouge tasting room in Easton, Maryland — who beat out Moon Rabbit's Kevin Tien and Pizzeria Inferno's Tony Conte, among others. It's his first nomination, and the first James Beard win for an Eastern Shore chef — a big deal!

• Peet is leading entrepreneur Paul Prager's restaurants and the culinary revamp of the historic small town, which has transformed into a foodie escape in recent years.
• "There's an amazing group of chefs that I've worked with and that I'm friends with on the Eastern Shore, and this is just a slice for everybody," Peet tells Axios. "To bring it home to a small town is the best."

What we're hearing: The splashy red carpet ceremony has been held in Chicago for years, but sources tell Axios that the Beard Foundation is shopping around for a new location when their contract there is up.

The intrigue: This was the first year the foundation announced the finalists in D.C. during a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria, which is operated by McLean-based Hilton — a major Beards sponsor.

In the media awards, honored at a separate ceremony, José Andrés' "The World Central Kitchen Cookbook" won for the best International Cookbook.

• Local author Meryl Feinstein won for her Single Subject cookbook "Pasta Every Day."
• Chevy Chase-based TV star Pati Jinich won in the Docuseries Visual Media category for the second season of "La Frontera," which documents life on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Humanitarian Award, which recognizes "exceptional selflessness and unwavering dedication to improving the lives of others and society as a whole," went to the LEE Initiative.

• Founders Edward Lee of D.C.'s Succotash and Lindsey Ofcacek are opening a nonprofit restaurant near Union Market.

The big picture: The Beards have been striving for diversity and inclusivity following years of controversy and a shakeup of the organization — a mission that was well represented in this year's winners, which range from West African-style Creole food from Dakar Nola in New Orleans to Ana Liz Taqueria on the Rio Grande border.

What's ahead: The Beards fall in a busy restaurant awards season, including the World's 50 Best and Michelin's launch in Mexico. Plus, the 2024 RAMMY Awards on July 21 — like the Beards for our local hospitality industry.

Full list of the 2024 James Beard Award winners