A Look at Philly’s Newest Unstuffy Food Awards

From left: Delicious City Podcast hosts Eli Kulp, Marisa Magnatta, and Dave Wez at 2025 The Tasties / Photograph by Philip Gabriel

Last year was a big year for our food scene and its long-held bid to be included in the national conversation. But for chef Eli Kulp and his fellow hosts of Delicious City Podcast, perhaps the most meaningful recognition comes, instead, from within the community.

It’s a post-Michelin Philadelphia, and Philadelphians have always reveled in strong opinions about merit, winners, and “bests.” And though, as Kulp tells me, he doesn’t “have a problem” with the esteemed guide, the podcasting team’s intention in putting on their annual award ceremony, The Tasties, isn’t to offer stuffy prestige and a standard night spent sitting in a concert hall. It’s to celebrate the individuals that make this food scene what it is.

Kulp conceived of the idea for The Tasties at a 2023 holiday party where they handed out awards to some of the industry folks in attendance. A few months later, inspired by examples of other locally focused food awards in major culinary cities, he brought the idea for a more official ceremony to the podcasting team. “Chicago does the Banchet awards that’s been very established for over two decades. D.C. does the Rammys, that’s been around for 40 years. But we don’t have that here,” he says.

Recognition on the national level — at your James Beards, your Michelins — is “incredibly difficult” to obtain, he explains. Head-scratching snubs are par for the course in such a crowded field of stiff competition. And while honors presented by local media are certainly not taken lightly, they can often come across as being, ultimately, by and for the publication and its purposes. “We wanted to do something that’s for the chef and restaurant community,” Kulp says. “I knew that this was going to be solely uplifting and supporting the restaurant community and giving them a night to celebrate.”

Kulp, named Food & Wine’s Best New Chef in 2014 and nominated for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic at the James Beard Awards in 2016, knows the community’s dedication to support well. After being injured in the 2015 Amtrak derailment, some $350,000 was raised to help offset his medical expenses. The Tasties, in part, is an act of gratitude for this aid.

The ceremony debuted at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia last February. All 450 tickets were sold. “We exceeded expectations completely,” he says of their inaugural year. “All I ever heard since then was ‘How the heck are you to top that? Because that was absolutely incredible.’ So, challenge accepted.”

This year’s ceremony (with Philadelphia magazine as a media partner), on February 1st, is bigger (600 seats!), features food and drinks from spots like Bastia, Rice & Sambal, a.bar, and Almanac, and will be followed by an afterparty with themed experiences based on ‘90s video stores, casinos, and the Italian Market.

But all this fun is for a good cause — proceeds will go to the food bank and charity Philabundance. This year also includes the new Future Tastemaker Award, which will go to three food and hospitality professionals under the age of 30, with a $1,000 grant for each.

“Mentorship is one of the most important aspects of being a chef,” Kulp says. “You have to bring the next generation up and give them that recognition.”

Other categories include Chef of the Year, Breakout Chef, Excellence in Hospitality, and Craft Cocktail Excellence — judged by a 15-member committee of Philadelphia food writers, community leaders, past winners and industry workers — as well as a shorter series of People’s Choice awards which can be voted on by the public, like Breakfast of Champions  (best breakfast restaurant), Brain Freeze Bestie (best frozen treats), and Dish Wizard (an honorary title given to city’s best dishwasher).

To add to the fun, there skits woven into the presentation of the awards, which will be performed on a stage built to resemble a restaurant, where recipients will sit, eat, and sip once awarded.

Reception to the event has been enthusiastic. “You could just tell how this means something to people,” Kulp says. “That just shows the trust that people have developed in Delicious City. We have put out so much goodwill over the last four and a half years supporting the community, and people genuinely feel that.”

This year’s Tasties ceremony will be held Sunday, February 1st, at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia starting at 4:30 p.m., with an afterparty scheduled for 6:30 p.m. VIP tickets are sold out, but general admission tickets — which also get you access to the afterparty — are still available for $190 per person ($170 per person for industry professionals). Tickets for just the afterparty are also available for $95 per person. You can purchase tickets here.