Phila Lorn of Mawn Claims Top James Beard Chef Award

Phila Lorn has certainly made an appearance.

Lorn, the chef who owns alongside his wife, Rachel,
Mawn
, a Cambodian restaurant specializing in noodles that is
One of Philadelphia’s most sought-after tables
was crowned the year’s Emerging Chef at the 2025 James Beard Awards event held in Chicago on Monday evening.

Raised in South Philadelphia, Lorn, who is 39 years old, is the youngest among five siblings born to Cambodian refugee parents. Named after the city his parents embraced, he expressed that receiving this honor felt like “a dream.” Following expressions of gratitude towards both the Beard Foundation and his spouse, Lorn chose to dedicate his accolade to the principle of “believing in your abilities and mastering your trade with conviction.”

“I wish to dedicated this accolade not only to myself but also to the assumptions out there—the belief that Mawn was merely an ordinary eatery, lacking space, focus, culinary quality, authenticity, and my own popularity,” he addressed the crowd gathered at the Lyric Opera.

“And also, the idea that this young Cambodian boy wouldn’t end up exactly where he was placed,” Lorn stated. “Upon learning of my nomination for this accolade, everyone assumed I would claim victory.” Laughter and applause erupted from the audience.

Behind-the-scenes, when queried about the significance of the award, he stated: “It feels as though this indicates we’re on the correct path and allows us to keep operating in our own manner, so-called ‘with no rules,’ as they say.”

Mawn, a cozy restaurant that allows guests to bring their own bottles, debuted at the end of 2023 with vibrant dishes inspired by various cuisines across Southeast Asia. It seems to have inherited the charm of its location on Ninth Street near Catharine, which was formerly home to Kalaya before it relocated and expanded into Fishtown.

Chef-owner Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon of Kalaya secured the 2023 accolade for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic following her status as a finalist the previous year. Additionally, Kalaya was nominated for Best New Restaurant in 2020.

The last winner from Philadelphia in this category, previously called Rising Star Chef, was Camille Cogswell.
pastry chef at Zahav at that time
In 2018, she was working elsewhere. Currently, she runs her own bakery in North Carolina.

Another 2025 award recipient with connections near Philadelphia is Vijay Kumar from Semma, where he was named Best Chef New York. Semma is under the ownership of Unapologetic Foods, set to debut new locations soon.
restaurant Adda in Fishtown sometime later this year
.

The bar Friday Saturday Sunday’s Lovers Bar made it as a finalist for Outstanding Bar. In the category of Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, two Philadelphia-based chefs — Amanda Shulman from Her Place Supper Club and Jesse Ito from Royal Izakaya & Sushi (who has been nominated eight times before) — also received nominations. However, the award went to Carlos Delgado for his culinary contributions at Causa in Washington, D.C.

Philadelphia stood out during Saturday evening’s James Beard Media Awards as
Food critic Craig LaBan from Inquirer was honored with the Craig Claiborne Distinguished Criticism Award.
For submitting three reviews:
Honeysuckle Provisions
(the previous establishment launched by Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate)
Octopus Cart
(a peculiar food cart in Center City), and
Loch Bar
(a seafood restaurant in Center City). Last year, LaBan — who also won the award in 2000 — and Inquirer photographer Jessica Griffin won in the Dining & Travel category for articles following chef
Dionicio Jimenez
and restaurateur-spirits mogul
David Suro
to their hometowns in Mexico, as well as a roundup of
LaBan’s favorite dishes
from the trip.

Lorn’s win Monday night clearly will not ease the demand for Mawn, whose
1,300 dinner bookings have been canceled.
The instant they’re released every month. Individuals without appointments can join a queue at noon from Thursday through Saturday.

The Lorns aim for a late July launch of their upcoming restaurant.
A Southeast Asian-themed oyster restaurant named Saoصند
, a nod to his immigrant parents’ accent when saying “South” as in “South Philly,” located at 1710 E. Passyunk Ave.