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He Was Just Named Best California Chef. Here's Why It's Also A Win For Filipino Americans
Lord Maynard Llera, who took the Best Chef: California award at the James Beard ceremony
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Gab Chabran/LAist
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L.A. Chef Lord Maynard Llera took home top honors Monday night — a coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef: California — for his unique heart-and-soul take on Filipino barbecue.
The Beard Awards are like the Oscars of the food world. And Llera, the owner-chef at Kuya Lord, was the only Los Angeles chef to be nominated this year, which was an accomplishment in and of itself. But it was only the beginning. (Also nominated in the same category was chef Tara Monsod, of Animae in San Diego.)
His victory — best California chef! — represents a win for Los Angeles and Southern California, and for the many Filipino Americans who call SoCal home. Moreover, Llera’s win raises the profile of a cuisine that many would say has gone overlooked for far too long.
"It's just surreal," he said after his win Monday night. "I came here 20 years ago from the Philippines with a dream of opening a restaurant."
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And to have achieved that as well as the evening's top honors? "It's, like, amazing," he said.
Llera started with a pandemic pop-up and leveraged it into the fast-casual concept located in the microneighborhood of the moment, Melrose Hill.
Pancit Kawai — noodles topped with fried pork belly — one of the many dishes you can try at Kuya Lord.
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Jakob N. Layman
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Courtesy of Kuya Lord
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The menu channels Llera’s unique take on southern Filipino-style cooking. In particular, Kuya Lord is known for its lechon kwali, a twice-cooked pork belly that manages to walk the line between a crispy, crackly outside and succulent inside.
While the win introduces Llera to the world, the recognition of his talents is long overdue.
Back in 2022, L.A. Times Food critic Bill Addison called Llera “a gripping new expressionist of Filipino cooking — a talent whose time had arrived.”
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Indeed.
Restaurant details
Location: 5003 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles
Hours: Tuesday- Thursday: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 5 to 9 p.m., Friday- Sunday: 11am-3:30pm | 5-9pm, Mondays: closed
Website: kuyalord.com
LAist Food Editor Gab Chabrán also contributed to this report.
Corrected June 11, 2024 at 3:58 PM PDT
An earlier version of this story did not include San Diego chef Tara Monsod, of Animae, who was also nominated in the same category as chef Lord Maynard Llera.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
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