Jake Howell of Peninsula Wins James Beard Award

Monday night at the 2025 James Beard Awards, the nonprofit award committee announced they know what Nashvillians have been saying since 2017: Jake Howell is the best.

Howell, chef and co-owner of East Nashville's Peninsula, was named Best Chef: Southeast at the Beard ceremony in Chicago. Howell is the first Nashvillian to receive this honor in nearly a decade — Tandy Wilson of City House was named Best Chef: Southeast in 2016. But Nashville has had many Beard Award semifinalists and finalists over the years. This year, Nashville semifinalists included East Nashville’s Bad Idea, Dung “Junior” Vo of Noko, Julio Hernandez of Maiz de la Vida, and Benjamin Goldberg, Max Goldberg, and Josh Habiger of Strategic Hospitality. Howell was a semifinalist in 2022.

With Howell’s win, the rest of the country learns what locals have known for years. Peninsula is something and some place special. The East Nashville restaurant is owned by Howell, Craig Schoen and Yuriko Say, who all worked together in Seattle before opening Peninsula in 2017. (It was soon reviewed by the Scene's own Dana Kopp Franklin, who called Peninsula "phenomenal.")

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Bad Idea, Strategic Hospitality Among Beard Semifinalists

Julio Hernández, Jake Howell and Dung ‘Junior’ Vo earn Best Chef: Southeast nods

They serve food inspired by the Iberian Peninsula — that means Spanish, Portuguese and Basque dishes, using French techniques. Howell interprets those cuisines to create a menu of his own. He’s not copying what he’d taste if he popped in on vacation. Howell, who won the Scene’s Iron Fork competition in 2019, creates menus that list ingredients. So you never know exactly what you're going to get, but you know it's going to be interesting and unlike anything you have had in the past.

The neighborhood restaurant has just 38 seats, so by definition it’s an intimate experience. The menu is similarly small, with a few dishes that change regularly. (Only about 20 percent of the menu stays static over time.) In 2021, Scene writer Ashley Brantley called the team “witches” as the only explanation for how they make their rich, flavorful strawberry broth vegan. That same year, Nancy Floyd lauded the extensive gin-and-tonic menu, created by Schoen.

Peninsula is open for dinner just three nights a week. Given that, this award and the size of the restaurant, online reservations are the way to go.