Chicago Hosts James Beard Awards 2026 With Three Local Finalists
The james beard awards 2026 returned to Chicago on Monday night, landing at Downtown’s Lyric Opera House at 6 p.m. The ceremony was sold out, and people at home could watch it through a livestream on Bon Appétit’s website.
Clare Reichenbach, chief executive of the James Beard Foundation, called the weekend “one of the biggest moments of the year for the culinary industry — a rare chance for the people who define American food culture to come together in celebration.” Chicago has hosted the awards since 2015, and the city now holds them through 2028.
Lyric Opera House draw
The return to Downtown’s Lyric Opera House pulled culinary figures from across the country onto the red carpet, with Gail Simmons hosting and Issa Rae and Luke Tennie appearing at the ceremony. Killer Mike and EL-P of Run the Jewels performed, giving the night a broader entertainment edge than a standard awards lineup.
That mix of host city, venue, and guest list keeps Chicago central to the awards’ identity. The foundation moved the ceremony from New York in 2015, then extended the run after former Mayor Rahm Emanuel pushed to keep it in the city through 2027. Earlier this spring, the James Beard Foundation and Choose Chicago announced a one-year extension through 2028.
Three Chicago finalists
Bailey Sullivan of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio was a finalist in the emerging chef category. Sullivan, a La Grange native, appeared in season 22 of Top Chef and has worked at Sarah Grueneberg’s West Loop Italian restaurant for a decade.
Norman Fenton of Cariño and Jacob Potashnick of Feld were both finalists in the Best Chef Great Lakes category. For Chicago readers, that made the home-city stakes unusually concentrated: three local chefs entered the same awards night with finalist status already attached to their names.
Chicago through 2028
The extension through 2028 keeps the awards anchored in a city that has already made them part of its annual dining calendar. For diners, chefs, and operators, that means the same weekend still belongs to Chicago — and the local finalists now have a home-crowd backdrop that stretches beyond one night.
