The James Beard Foundation awarded Denver’s Penelope Wong as the Best Chef in the Mountain region on Monday night.

After being in the running for four years, Wong of Yuan Wonton finally earned one of the most prestigious awards in the culinary industry. Getting a James Beard award is often compared to winning an Oscar for many restaurants.

“This was never the goal,” Wong said in a video after winning the award. “I never ever dreamed or imagined that I would be up on this platform with so many other chefs who I have looked up to.”

The award for the Mountain region covers Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

Yuan Wonton, at 2878 Fairfax St. in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, specializes in Asian dumplings and wontons using mostly Chinese and Thai flavors, with Wong saying the menu was made to “immortalize” the childhood recipes she grew up with.

Wong went from working as an executive chef at the Glenmoor Country Club to opening Yuan Wonton as a food truck in 2019. She got her first nomination for the Best Chef in the Mountain region category in 2023, and later expanded into a brick-and-mortar restaurant the same year. She’s had three nominations before she won the award on her fourth try.

Wong recalled growing up and eating homemade Asian cuisine at school and being made fun of for it as a kid, begging her mom to make her a ham and cheese sandwich instead to fit in. 

“The kind of flavors that we’re putting out, where you know fish sauce is a regular staple in so many of our menu items, to see that being celebrated and recognized is so special,” she said Monday after winning the award.

She was the only winner from Colorado this year. 

Several other restaurant leaders around the state were in the running, including Josh Niernberg of Bin 707 Foodbar in Grand Junction for Outstanding Chef, Ryan Fletter of Denver’s Barolo Grill for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright at Yacht Club for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service and Johnny Curiel at Denver’s Alma Fonda Fina for Best Chef in the Mountain region.

When Wong went up to accept her award, she was in disbelief that she beat the other chef in the running who had won several Michelin stars and boosted Denver’s Mexican cuisine into the national spotlight. 

“Holy sh—, I beat Johnny Curiel,” she exclaimed as the crowd laughed.

It was all in good spirit, though, as Curiel later reposted the clip on his Instagram story and said “Much love chef, soo freaking deserved. Cannot wait to celebrate you back home.”