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.
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
Emerging Chef
Adrian Torres, Maximo, West University Place, TXOutstanding Restaurateur
Outstanding Chef
Outstanding Restaurant
Best New Restaurant
Outstanding Bakery
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Outstanding Hospitality
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Outstanding Bar
Best New Bar
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
Best Chefs
Best Chef: California
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
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)
Best Chef: New York State
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
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)
Best Chef: Texas
Humanitarian of the Year
No Us Without You LA, Damián Diaz and Othon Nolasco
Lifetime Achievement
Nancy Silverton
Impact Award Honorees
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen
Senator Ben Ray Luján
ReFED
Southern Smoke Foundation
Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards.