The 2026 James Beard Award Winners Are In: And We Have All the Buzz

We were in that room at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday night, and let us to tell you, there is nothing quite like the James Beard Awards. The energy, the talent, the emotion. Over 1,800 guests gathered to celebrate the best of the best in American food and beverage. The room was electric.

As we do here on The List, we're leading with our people first,  the Mid-Atlantic had a spectacular night, and then we're giving you every single winner. Bookmark this one. You're going to want it. (Good luck getting these reservations now!)

Our People: Mid-Atlantic Winners 

Outstanding Restaurant
Kalaya — Philadelphia, PA

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit — Washington, D.C.

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi & Izakaya — Philadelphia, PA

America's Classic
Oyster House — Philadelphia, PA (Current Owner: Sam Mink)

The National Awards

Outstanding Restaurateur
Dana Street — Fore Street, Scales, Standard Baking Co., and others — Portland, ME

Outstanding Chef
Michael Tusk, Quince — San Francisco, CA

Emerging Chef (presented by S.Pellegrino)
Adrian Torres, Maximo — West University Place, TX

Best New Restaurant
Lei — New York, NY

Outstanding Bakery
Wild Crumb — Bozeman, MT

Outstanding Hospitality
Providence — Los Angeles, CA

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Kato — Los Angeles, CA

Outstanding Bar
Scotch Lodge — Portland, OR

Best New Bar
Loma — Providence, RI

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 Chefs by Region

California: Dave Beran, Seline — Santa Monica, CA
 Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH): Jacob Potashnick, Feld — Chicago, IL
 Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA): Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi & Izakaya — Philadelphia, PA
 Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI): Loryn Nalic, Balkan Treat Box — Webster Groves, MO
 Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY): Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton — Denver, CO
 New York State: Hooni Kim, Meju — Queens, NY
 Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT): Evan Hennessey, Stages — Dover, NH
 Northwest & Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA): Ryan Roadhouse, Nodoguro — Portland, OR
 South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR): Serigne Mbaye, Dakar NOLA — New Orleans, LA
 Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV): Taylor Montgomery, Montgomery Sky Farm — Leicester, NC
 Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK): Sarah Thompson, Casa Playa — Las Vegas, NV
 Texas: Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, JŪN — Houston, TX

America's Classics

The James Beard America's Classics Award goes to beloved, locally and independently owned restaurants with timeless appeal — the places that define their communities.

The Serving Spoon — Inglewood, CA (Justin Johnson and Jessica Bane)
Oyster House — Philadelphia, PA (Sam Mink)
Johnny's Cafe — Omaha, NE (Sally Kawa, Kari Kawa Harding, and Jack Kawa)
Eng's — Kingston, NY (Tom Sit and Faye Sit)
Figaretti's Italian Restaurant — Wheeling, WV (Dino Figaretti)
Bob Taylor's Ranch House — Las Vegas, NV (Jeff Special)

Special Honors

Lifetime Achievement
Nancy Silverton — A true legend. Four decades of shaping how we eat, cook, and think about food. Founder of La Brea Bakery, co-founder of Campanile, and the force behind Osteria Mozza. She won the very first James Beard Pastry Chef of the Year in 1991 and Outstanding Chef in 2014. Nancy Silverton is American food culture.

Humanitarian of the Year
No Us Without You — Othón Nolasko and Damián Diaz, Los Angeles, CA. In 2020, these two co-founded No Us Without You to feed undocumented back-of-house restaurant workers ineligible for pandemic relief. They started hoping to feed 30 families a week. As of December 2025, they're providing food security for over 500 families quarterly — 10,000 pounds of food per quarter. During the ICE raids in LA in spring 2025, they pivoted to delivering meals directly to families at home. This is what it means to show up for the people who make hospitality possible.

Congratulations to every single winner. Now go make a reservation.