Philly chef Phila Lorn is named to Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs list for Mawn

Literally on the eve of his second restaurant’s opening, chef Phila Lorn has been named one of the Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs, its annual list of 10 standout chefs who have been in charge of a kitchen or pastry program for five years or less.

With his wife, Rachel, Lorn opened the hit Cambodian-inspired BYOB Mawn in 2023.

He received his award Tuesday night at a ceremony in New York. Lorn, 39, returned post-haste to Philadelphia for Wednesday’s opening night of Sao, the couple’s seafood-forward bar-restaurant at 1710 E. Passyunk Ave., and for service at Mawn, 764 S. Ninth St., as it reopens after vacation.

In June, Lorn won the James Beard Foundation’s annual award for Emerging Chef, recognizing a chef with “exceptional talent, character, and leadership who is poised to make a significant impact in the culinary world.” (The category formerly was known as Rising Star Chef and honored chefs under age 30.)

» READ MORE: All about Sao, the new restaurant from Phila and Rachel Lorn

In a news release announcing its 2025 winners, Food & Wine said the group is “redefining American dining by translating their personal histories into deeply expressive dishes. The result is food that’s inventive yet nostalgic, that honors the past while looking to the future. This year’s class reflects a clear shift: Chefs are putting their histories at the center of the plate.”

Food & Wine said chefs are nominated by Best New Chef alumni, food writers, cookbook authors, and other experts. The publication said it visits hundreds of restaurants “in search of the most promising and dynamic chefs right now.”

Lorn joins a list of other F&W Best New Chef winners from the Philadelphia area, dating to the awards’ second year: