Kaya, the Filipino restaurant in the Mills 50 District co-owned by Jamilyn Bailey and Lordfer Lalicon, has advanced to the finals in the James Beard Foundation Award’s Best New Restaurant category.
Kaya will be the only restaurant representing Central Florida in the finals. Jennifer Berdin and Mark Berdin of Kadence were semifinalists in the Best Chef – South category, as was Henry Moso of Kabooki Sushi, but none advanced to the finals. Moso was a finalist in that category last year, the first Central Florida chef to reach the final ballot in the awards’ history.
According to new protocols for the foundation, judges will visit the restaurants nominated for finals before casting their ballot.
The awards will be announced June 10 at a ceremony in Chicago. Lalicon said in a text message Wednesday that it was an honor to represent Orlando and he was very happy for his team. He said he plans to attend the June awards presentation.
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