Three Chicago chefs are finalists for this year’s prestigious James Beard Awards. And the group behind the food industry’s highest honor announced Tuesday that the ceremony will remain in Chicago at least through 2028 — a one-year extension from what had been previously announced.
Bailey Sullivan, of the West Loop’s Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio, is a finalist in the emerging chef category. Plus, Norman Fenton of Cariño in Uptown and Jacob Potashnick of Feld in Ukrainian Village are among this year’s finalists in the best chef Great Lakes category.
The James Beard Foundation announced the finalists Tuesday from The Wellsley, a private event space in Chicago’s River North, owned by the Boka Restaurant Group.
“This has been a dream for me since I was a little girl, so to be living this moment is absolutely surreal,” said Sullivan, a La Grange native, who is Monteverde’s executive chef.
Sullivan started as a line cook in 2016 at the Italian restaurant, owned by chef Sarah Grueneberg. Grueneberg said Tuesday that Sullivan “is as much of Monteverde as I am.”
Cariño, Fenton’s Latin American eatery, opened its doors at the end of 2023 and quickly drew praise, including earning its first Michelin Star just one year in. It was also named best new restaurant at last year’s Banchet Awards, Chicago’s top local food prize.
Fenton is joined in the best chef Great Lakes category by fellow Chicagoan, Potashnick, who first gained attention when he chronicled opening his restaurant, Feld, on TikTok. In under two years, the Chicago Avenue restaurant has earned a Michelin Star and won best new restaurant and best hospitality at this year’s Banchets in January.
“It’s really lovely that it’s my name on the award, but this is a team effort and a group activity,” Potashnick said. “I have such a strong team who have been with me almost all since the start when Feld opened, and this is as much for them as it is for me.”
The Beards, often dubbed “the Oscars of the food world,” recognize culinary excellence nationwide, across categories for chefs, restaurateurs, beverage professionals, pastry chefs and more.
“Because it’s a time of real challenge and uncertainty, it’s important to say this with certainty: Independent restaurants are not just businesses, you are the very fabric of American culture,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the Beard Foundation. “You fuel economies and ecosystems. You tell the story of where we come from, who we are today and who we are becoming.”
The awards have been hosted in Chicago since 2015, after moving from New York. In 2018, former Mayor Rahm Emanuel spearheaded an effort to keep the ceremony in Chicago an additional nine years — through 2027. With that deadline now approaching, the foundation and Choose Chicago announced an additional extension on the Beard’s time in Chicago, although, this time, by just one year. Still, city and state leaders heralded it as a win.
“This extension is a recognition of Chicago’s extraordinary culinary community and the chefs, restaurateurs, and hospitality professionals who make our city one of the great food destinations in the world,” Kristen Reynolds, Choose Chicago’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
The Beards previously named 23 Chicago restaurants among this year’s semifinalists.
Last year, five Chicago restaurants were Beard finalists, while two — Kumiko and Oriole — took home medals. South Side staple Lem’s Bar-B-Q also earned a 2025 honor as an “America’s Classics” awardee.
This year’s James Beard Awards will be held June 15 at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House.
Here are the Chicago chefs and restaurants named 2026 James Beard Award finalists:
Emerging Chef
- Bailey Sullivan, Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio
Best Chef: Great Lakes (Illinois, Indian, Michigan, Ohio)
- Norman Fenton, Cariño
- Jacob Potashnick, Feld
Courtney Kueppers is an arts and culture reporter at WBEZ.
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
