Neale Asato becomes James Beard finalist
- Honolulu pastry chef Neale Asato became a 2026 James Beard Awards finalist in Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, representing Asato Family Shop. - Asato was the only one of nine Hawai‘i semifinalists to reach the final round, with winners set for June 15 in Chicago. - The nod puts Hawai‘i’s sherbet scene on a national stage before the Lyric Opera ceremony. (jamesbeard.org)
Honolulu dessert maker Neale Asato is a finalist for the 2026 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. (hawaiipublicradio.org) (jamesbeard.org) Asato runs Asato Family Shop, a family business known for sherbet in local flavors, and he recently expanded with Asatos Waikīkī in the Hyatt Regency Waikīkī complex. (alohastatedaily.com) (honolulumagazine.com) The James Beard Foundation announced the 2026 Restaurant and Chef Award nominees on March 31, and the winners will be named June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. (jamesbeard.org 1) (jamesbeard.org 2) Asato is Hawai‘i’s only finalist this year after nine local chefs and restaurants made the semifinal round in January. (hawaiipublicradio.org) (honolulumagazine.com) In the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category, Asato is up against Susan Bae of Moon Rabbit in Washington, Tavel Bristol-Joseph of Nicosi in San Antonio, Maggie Huff of Lucia in Dallas, and Justine MacNeil of Fiore in Philadelphia. (honolulumagazine.com) (jamesbeard.org) Asato told Hawai‘i Public Radio that even making the semifinal list caught him off guard, and reaching the finalist round left him “speechless.” (hawaiipublicradio.org) He said the business started as a home side project after he grew up making sherbet and ice cream with family and missing Maui’s Tasaka Guri Guri after moving back to O‘ahu. (hawaiipublicradio.org) Aloha State Daily reported that the Pali Highway shop has been open for a little more than seven years, while the company itself began roughly a year and a half earlier. (alohastatedaily.com) The recognition also extends a recent run for Hawai‘i at the James Beard Awards: Robynne Maii of Fête won Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific in 2022, and Bar Leather Apron won Outstanding Bar in 2023. (honolulumagazine.com) For now, Asato’s family-run sherbet business has one more date on the calendar: June 15 in Chicago. (jamesbeard.org) (hawaiipublicradio.org)
