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I first met chef Jasmine Norton in June 2022, when I interviewed her about her dreams for The Urban Oyster on the Avenue in Hampden just a few months after she signed the lease. She was just coming off of cooking at the Preakness that year alongside Top Chef judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons and Top Chef Masters winner Marcus Samuelsson. Not bad for a self-taught chef.
Today, despite the nomadic journey she’s had since starting The Urban Oyster in 2017—debuting with chargrilled oysters at the Baltimore Farmers Market under the JFX, running seven pop-ups at R. House, opening her first Urban Oyster brick and mortar in Locust Point and closing due to COVID-19, running ghost kitchens from Hyatt’s properties during the height of the pandemic, operating a burger bar spinoff at Whitehall Mill, and waiting 18 long months to reopen The Urban Oyster as a full-service dining concept—she’s excited to be coming up on the one-year anniversary of her permanent home in Hampden.
“There’s a natural embedding that happens when you have control,” Norton says, “When you are the writer of your own destiny, you have your resources. I never realized how strong my network was in the city, and it’s important for me to give back to the place that loves and supports me.”
But the one-year mark for the restaurant isn’t Norton’s only cause for celebration. Last week, it was announced that she has been named a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category—an honor shared locally by Charleston’s Cindy Wolf (nominated in 2006, 2008, and every year from 2014 to 2019); Clavel’s Carlos Raba (2022); Ekiben’s Steve Chu (2023); and former Alma Cocina Latina chef David Zamudio (2024).
Norton stands out in the category as the owner of one of the nation’s few prominent Black-owned oyster bars. The list will be narrowed down to finalists on April 2, with winners awarded at the annual ceremony in Chicago on June 16.
Exactly one week after the news broke, we caught up about all of the well-deserved praise.
Where were you when you found out you had been nominated? It’s been a week now, right?
Yes, it’s been a week from today. I was actually getting my hair shampooed! I was getting my hair done in preparation for my CreativeMornings talk on Friday [Jan. 31.]
Did they call you? How does this work?
It’s so crazy how it happened. Someone randomly texted me, like “Hey, I know we haven’t talked in a while but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say congratulations on your nomination,” or something like that. And I was like, “What are you talking about?” In my mind, I’m getting my hair washed and trying to look at my phone thinking maybe they’re getting my nomination for Baltimore magazine’s Best Restaurant Readers’ Poll confused with whatever they’re talking about.
But then, I started getting texts from Steve [Chu] and Ephrem [Abebe] from Ekiben, and getting tagged on Instagram, and I’m like, oh, this shit is real! I told my hairstylist, Venus, to give me a second so I could do some research. I needed to process everything because it was like back to back to back [notifications].
My heart was racing, I had butterflies, and I was just trying to scroll through the list [on the website], because it’s so many categories, and I was like, oh my god, how is this possible? It took so much willpower to keep my composure because, again, you know, I was at the hair salon, and I had just gotten there. I felt trapped with my emotions, my mom and my dad were speaking positively to me, my mom was crying in my ear [on the phone].
How are you feeling now?
It’s still surreal, I’m still on cloud nine. We all experience imposter syndrome. I still, every now and then, think: how is this possible? Who thought that much of me? I’m not even classically trained. Those thoughts pop up here and there. And then I literally think about my journey, and all that I’ve built, and all that I’ve come from, and I do feel like I am deserving of this recognition, it makes me want to work harder and stronger.
You mentioned you’re friends with Steve Chu, who has also been nominated for this award. The Baltimore food scene is such a tight-knit community. How does it feel being a part of this group?
It feels great to be respected by people as a young bright female in the industry amongst people who have been in it longer than me, and others who are classically trained. Gaining their support, and their respect and love, is invaluable. Carlos [Raba] from Clavel also texted me.
What has the community response been like?
It’s been absolutely incredible. Even my landord, who is the owner of Royal Farms, texted me over the weekend. Al Hutchinson from Visit Baltimore [reached out to congratulate me]. The higher-ups at JP Morgan Chase were sending me emails. Some of the organizations that we were able to get loans from to open the new location came in on the day of the announcement and packed the restaurant. We had to create seating for them because so many of them showed up, and our restaurant isn’t super large. They came in 12 people deep, and I was like, let’s figure this out. They were excited and wanted to come and support. The love has been overflowing. My friends and my parents showed up on the day with flowers. It’s been great.
Have you talked to the other Baltimore nominees with Charleston, nominated this year for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program? Or Dre Levon, who was also named a semifinalist this year in the category of Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service for his work at Clavel?
Yes, we [Dre and I] found ourselves in a group message. D Watkins [Baltimore’s own New York Times best-selling author who won the 2024 James Beard Media Award for a Salon article on navigating the restaurant scene sober] is a true natural connector. He congratulated us both in a group text, so now we are all connected as these James Beard-associated Baltimoreans now.
The timing of this announcement is also so amazing, isn’t it? Because in February you celebrate eight years of the business, and one year in Hampden.
So timely! You know, especially this month. I mean, most people know that for one, restaurants are very slow in January. So, to have notoriety in a month like this has absolutely turned our January around. And honestly, I would even say, probably our first quarter will be stronger than normal because of all these accolades that we stand the potential of securing.
But also, I think with the news coming out this month is really indicative of what the year will be like for myself and the brand. I’m just excited about all the other things that are on the horizon, that I don’t even know of yet.
What are some of the things you do know you have planned for 2025?
I’m working and striving really hard to study abroad at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris this September. I’m trying to put my savings together, make sure my team is strong enough to survive without me for three months. I wanted to do this well before anything from James Beard came about, but I want to hone in on my craft. I’m always looking to be better and improve and fine-tune what is it I created. I never want to plateau.
As a self taught chef, the nomination must mean so much to you.
It feels incredible to be considered and respected amongst so many individuals that have been in this industry longer than me, who most likely have much more knowledge than me. It just feels great to have the respect of the foundation, as well as to be amongst these people, some of them whose restaurants I’ve been to and have a great deal of respect for, so it is an absolute honor.