First Nepalese Beard Finalist

Chef Suresh Sundas of Tapori in Washington is a 2026 James Beard Award finalist, the first Nepal-born chef to reach that stage. (jamesbeard.org) (wtop.com) The James Beard Foundation listed Sundas in the Emerging Chef category when it announced its 2026 restaurant and chef award nominees in April. The awards are among the biggest national honors in American restaurants. (jamesbeard.org) Sundas runs Tapori, a restaurant in Washington that draws on Nepali and Indian street food. Michelin’s guide described the menu with dishes including momos and kati rolls after the restaurant opened in 2024. (guide.michelin.com) WTOP reported Sundas said he had worked at a 7-Eleven and drove for Uber before building his cooking career in the United States. He told the station he had not expected to become a chef when he first arrived from Nepal. (wtop.com) Tapori had already broken out before the Beard finalist announcement. Eater included the restaurant on its best new restaurants in America list, giving Sundas a national audience beyond Washington. (eater.com) That sequence matters in restaurant terms because the Beard finalist list usually follows years of local acclaim, not a single burst of attention. Sundas reached the finalist stage while still in the early life of his first restaurant. (jamesbeard.org) (guide.michelin.com) The recognition also lands in a Washington dining scene that has become more open to immigrant-run restaurants outside the city’s older fine-dining lanes. Tapori’s food is built around snacks and street dishes that rarely led national awards conversations a decade ago. (guide.michelin.com) (wtop.com) For Sundas, the finalist nod turned a Washington opening into a national milestone: a chef from Nepal, cooking food tied to home, now has a seat on the Beard ballot. (jamesbeard.org) (wtop.com)