2 local chefs named to prestigious global Best Chef list

by Pam Kragen

Chefs William Bradley and Eric Bost, who run San Diego County restaurants with a combined five Michelin stars, are 2025 honorees in the annual international Best Chef Awards, which were held last week in Milan.

Bradley, the founding executive chef and director of Michelin three-star Addison by William Bradley in San Diego’s Carmel Valley, was awarded the top-tier honor of Three Knives for the second year in a row. And first-time honoree Bost, the executive chef for Michelin-starred restaurants Jeune et Jolie and Lilo in Carlsbad, earned One Knife.

Three Knives, awarded to 126 chefs worldwide this year, recognizes the highest standard of culinary mastery. One Knife, awarded to 421 chefs worldwide, recognizes excellence and notable contributions to the field.

Restaurateur John Resnick, left, and executive chef Eric Bost inside Lilo, their Michelin-starred 22-seat tasting-menu restaurant in Carlsbad. (Elodie Bost)

In a post on his Instagram account Sunday, Bost wrote that he is “absolutely thrilled and honored to be included in this incredible collection of talented chefs from around the world. Super inspired, and grateful to @thebestchefawards and our global community!”

Bradley also posted a note of recognition on his and Addison’s Instagram pages that thanked the Addison team “whose support and dedication make these achievements possible.”

The chefs at just nine American restaurants were Three Knives honorees. All of their restaurants have two or three Michelin stars. Besides Bradley, these honorees are San Francisco chefs Dominique Crenn of Atelier Crenn and Corey Lee of Benu; New York City chefs César Ramirez of César, Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park and Junghyun Pak of Atomix; Los Angeles chef Aitor Zabala of Somni; Chicago’s Grant Achatz of Alinea; and José Andrés and Carles Tejedor of Minibar in Washington, D.C.

This year’s honorees also included two chefs in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe, repeat Two Knives honoree David Castro Hussong of Fauna and One Knife honoree Sheyla Alvarado of Michelin-starred Lunario.

Founded in 2017 in Warsaw, the Best Chef Awards for 2025 were selected by a voting panel of 572 chefs from 64 countries and 400 industry professionals from 51 countries.