Local · Trusted · Free
The Morning Impact — your neighborhood's most important stories, delivered every morning.
Several Houston-area chefs took home awards at the 2026 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards hosted June 15 in Chicago.
The results are in
Maximo chef Adrian Torres won the Emerging Chef prize, awarded annually to one chef nationwide, according to the awards website.
JŪN chefs Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas.
Check this out
Houston led all Texas cities with six finalists, including three winners. The other finalists were:
;
The backstory
Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards nationally recognize exceptional talent in the culinary industry, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
Before you go
The full list of winners can be found on the foundation’s website.
