On Monday, June 15, the James Beard Foundation will reveal the remaining winners of the 2026 James Beard Awards at its annual ceremony in Chicago, bringing the restaurant industry’s greatest annual honors to a close after months of anticipation. The awards, widely considered among the highest accolades for chefs and restaurateurs in the United States, recognize excellence across categories spanning Outstanding Restaurant, Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Chef, and regional Best Chef awards, as well as America’s Classics and other categories. This year’s host is cookbook author and Top Chef host Gail Simmons, and the event is taking place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
This evening’s Restaurant and Chef Awards follow the foundation’s Media Awards announcements this past weekend, which celebrated achievements in cookbooks, journalism, broadcast, social media, and other food storytelling. The 2026 restaurant and chef finalists were announced on March 31, narrowing down a field that included honorees from across the country.
The foundation has also already recognized several 2026 honorees outside of tonight’s competitive categories, including No Us Without You founders Damián Diaz and Othón Nolasco, who received the Humanitarian of the Year Award, and chef and restaurateur Nancy Silverton, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The recipients of this year’s Impact Award were the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján, ReFED, and the Southern Smoke Foundation.
The star-studded event featured appearances from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson, hip hop duo Run the Jewels, and more familiar faces from politics and culture. Heartfelt speeches from both presenters and winners emphasized the immeasurable contributions immigrants have made to America, and especially to the world of food and dining. “Our industry is an industry of immigrants,” said No Us Without You co-founder Damian Díaz. “Immigrants are what make this America great… the system, as broken as it is, is carried by immigrant arms.”
Other moments were more lighthearted; two-time James Beard Award winner Mashama Bailey threw out a “go Knicks!” from onstage, while the Scotch Lodge folks, in their acceptance speech for Best New Bar, declared, “We’ll see you at karaoke afterward. The gauntlet’s been thrown down.”
Follow along with this post throughout the night for regular updates on the winners in each category.
2026 James Beard Awards: Restaurant and Chef Winners
Adrian Torres, Maximo, West University Place, TX
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit, Washington, D.C.
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Scotch Lodge, Portland, OR
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
Lee Campbell, Borgo, New York, NY
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
Kevin Diedrich, Pacific Cocktail Haven, San Francisco, CA
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
Jacob Potashnick, Feld, Chicago, IL
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton, Denver, CO
Best Chef: New York State
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
Evan Hennessey, Stages, Dover, NH
Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)
Sarah Thompson, Casa Playa, Las Vegas, NV
No Us Without You LA, Damián Diaz and Othon NolascoCoalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)Jon Bon Jovi Soul KitchenSenator Ben Ray LujánReFEDSouthern Smoke Foundation
Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards.