Asato gets Beard nod

Neale Asato is one of five 2026 James Beard Award nominees for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. (jamesbeard.org) The James Beard Foundation announced the restaurant and chef nominees on March 31, and the winners are scheduled to be named June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. (jamesbeard.org) Asato told Aloha State Daily that the nomination traces back to his family shop and the desserts he built around that business in Honolulu. The paper tied the nod directly to Asato Family Shop rather than a broader Hawaiʻi finalists roundup. (alohastatedaily.com) The category puts a pastry chef and baker on the same national ballot, so frozen desserts, plated sweets, bread, and pastry programs can compete under one award. The foundation says the Restaurant and Chef Awards recognize excellence across the culinary arts, food and beverage, and hospitality. (jamesbeard.org) For Hawaiʻi, the nomination narrowed a larger field. The James Beard Foundation listed nine Hawaiʻi semifinalists on January 21, and Honolulu Magazine reported on March 31 that Asato was the only one from the state to advance to the final nominee stage. (jamesbeard.org) (honolulumagazine.com) Asato Family Shop says it specializes in “Local Kine” sherbet, and its website says the Pali shop is closed while the business increases pint production for Foodland and its Waikīkī scoop shop. (asatofamilyshop.com) That expansion has already widened Asato’s footprint beyond the original family brand. Honolulu Magazine reported that he added an omakase dessert bar in Waikīkī in 2026, while OpenTable lists Asatos Waikīkī as a reservation-only concept serving the family’s sherbet and other sweets. (honolulumagazine.com) (opentable.com) The next marker is June 15 in Chicago, when Asato’s family-rooted dessert business will find out whether a Hawaiʻi sherbet maker can turn a nomination into a James Beard win. (jamesbeard.org)