Moso Nori 1100 S. Orlando Ave., Winter Park Four-time James Beard Award nominee Henry Moso will open a handroll bar serving a variety of temaki in a 2,456-square-foot space designed by GDP, the firm behind such fetching venues as Tori Tori, the Moderne and Haan Coffee. Moso Nori will feature an island bar with 30-plus seats where Moso and his chefs will serve cylindrical rolls fashioned from premium roasted Japanese nori and filled with everything from dry-aged fish to foie gras to vegetables, ranging in price from $5 to $12. Sake, beer, wine and sake-based cocktails will also be served. It’s slated to open in October. Credit: Courtesy photo

The 2024 James Beard Award nominations were announced Wednesday morning and four Orlando-area chefs earned honors in two categories.

Henry Moso, who became Orlando’s first James Beard Award finalist last year, nabbed his third semifinalist nomination in the Best Chef: South category and his fourth nomination overall (he was also a candidate for Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2020).

Joining Moso in the Best Chef: South category are first-time semifinalists Mark and Jen Berdin of Kadence, long considered one of Orlando’s finest restaurants and the one that kickstarted the intimate and innovative omakase movement in this city.

Kaya, by Kadence alum Lordfer Lalicon, is up for Best New Restaurant, a category that will see the venture he started with Jamilyn Bailey vie with 30 other establishments around the nation for top honors.

Mark Berdin, Lordfer Lalicon, Jami Bailey, Jen Berdin at Kadence Credit: Photo via Jami Bailey

For third-culture kids like Moso, the Berdins, Bailey and Lalicon, the distinction came with plenty of gratitude, emotion and tears.

“I feel so blessed and shocked,” said a choked-up Lalicon. “You put all this hard work and belief into what you do and I’m just so honored. It makes me want to work harder. I’m getting teary eyed to be honest with you.”

Lordfer “Lo” Lalicon of Kaya Credit: Courtesy photo

For Mark Berdin, the news also came as a surprise.

“Congratulations?? For what?” he tells me over the phone while cruising in the Caribbean. When I inform him of their Best Chef: South nomination, he’s taken aback.

“What? Really? I don’t know what to say. I’m just so stunned. I’m on the back of a cruise ship staring at the sea and the mountains in St. Thomas and it’s a sunny, perfect day and you telling me this … it’s, it’s just awesome. Thank you very much! I’m about to go eat at a buffet right now!”

Mark and Jen Berdin’s son Romeo on a cruise ship. Berdin learned of his nomination while on vacation in St. Thomas. Credit: Photo via Mark Berdin

“This is monumental,” said an equally stunned Moso. “I’m speechless right now. I just feel so so honored once again, and it just makes me want to keep pushing my culinary boundaries.”

So what’s next?

Subcommittee members and judges of the Restaurant and Chef Awards voting body — comprised of food and beverage writers, critics, editors, book authors, media producers, food studies scholars and culinary instructors — will anonymously visit the nominated restaurants in their region and score each semifinalist on a number of criteria. The semifinalists with the highest average score will be announced as finalists on April 3.

Judges and subcommittee members will then dine at the restaurants of the finalists, participate in committee-led discussions regarding their dining experiences, then vote with the top scoring nominee per category being announced as the winner.

More information on the voting process can be found at JamesBeard.org.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Chicago on June 10.

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This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2024.

Orlando restaurant critic. Orlando Weekly restaurant critic since 2006.