Philadelphia chef named to James Beard ‘ones to watch’ list

Philadelphia chef Yun Fuentes, who opened Rittenhouse Square restaurant Bolo in 2023, has been named to the James Beard Foundation’s TasteTwenty list of “ones to watch” in the food industry.

Fuentes, who previously worked as executive chef at restaurateur Stephen Starr’s Alma de Cuba and as a chef at Garces Group concepts Amada and Village Whiskey, opened Latin American restaurant and rum bar Bolo two years ago at 2025 Sansom St.

Fuentes was named a semifinalist in the James Beard Award’s Emerging Chef category in 2024 and in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category this year.

TasteTwenty is part of the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America series. Taste America will kick off this year with an event in Los Angeles featuring all TasteTwenty chefs. The series will continue across the U.S. through March 2026, when an event is planned in Philadelphia with Fuentes. The events are designed to “reflect the distinctive character of each host city’s food scene and independent restaurant community,” according to the James Beard Foundation.