LOS ANGELES — One of the most prestigious awards in the food world is the James Beard Awards, and many local LA chefs and restaurants were recognized on the 2022 list of nominees, including chef Wes Avila.

Avila may be one of the best chefs in all of Los Angeles, but as a child, he had other dreams.

“Oh, man. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a professional wrestler, I wanted to be the Iron Sheik or Hulk Hogan,” Avila said.

Avila, who was cracking open sea urchins, acknowledged with a smile that he is, in a sense, doing his own form of wrestling these days.

His Chinatown restaurant Angry Egret Dinette is new hit, known for its inventive dishes that always have a nod toward Avila’s Mexican background.

“Lamb birria to hamachi tostadas,” he said.

And it’s a finalist for Best New Restaurant in the James Beard Awards, one of the most prestigious culinary awards in the entire country. Avila said he was stunned by the nomination, which covered chefs and restaurants from coast to coast.

But the 2022 list of finalists is especially of note. According to Eater, this year’s awards feature their most diverse list ever. This comes after a two-year hiatus following an outpouring of criticism, in which the awards were accused of not being diverse enough.

“They’re looking to be a little more inclusive, and it’s something that is important to do, especially in the restaurant industry, to include the diversity of the people,” Avila said. “Because most of the people in the back are people of color, there’s a lot of women.”

Los Angeles chefs and restaurants were prominent on the list, including Justin Pichetrungsi, head chef at Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks. Pichetrungsi was a semifinalist for Best Chef in California. Anajak Thai is a family run business, but Pichetrungsi said his mother is not as well versed in the James Beard Awards as he is.

“She goes, ‘Oh my God, congratulations!’” Pichetrungsi mimics his mother. “‘What’s James Beard?’” Pichetrungsi laughed heartily.

And even though he didn’t make it onto the finalist list, Pichetrungsi was glad to see a lot of Thai representation on the list this year.

“James Syhabout from Commis, Jazz from Jitlada. … I really look up to all these guys you know? And they represent different expressions of Asian food, Thai food and just food in general,” Pichetrungsi said.

And that’s what both chefs emphasized: more equal representation on a national platform like the James Beard Awards makes a difference in the restaurant industry.

Avila, who is still in the running as a finalist, is reinvigorated by the nomination.

“It just makes me have to elevate and be at the level that a James Beard would do,” Avila said.

The winners of the James Beard Awards will be announced during a ceremony in Chicago on June 13, 2022.