After all the medals were given out at the James Beard Awards (Chicago took home two), the real fun began. Hundreds of chefs, restaurateurs and food lovers from across the country packed into Union Station’s Great Hall in black-tie attire for a feast of small bites, drinks and mingling.
There was Julia Momosé, the Chicago mixologist whose dining bar Kumiko won a Beard, being interviewed on the after-party livestream. There was Donnie Madia of One Off Hospitality (Avec, The Publican) chatting by a gin bar. And Chicago chef Thai Dang of 2025 James Beard finalist HaiSous serving up a salad made with vegetables from a baby broccoli brand that he’s endorsing. Also spotted were chefs like Sujan Sarkar — a Beards finalist last year who runs Indienne and Nadu in Chicago — who did not attend the ceremony, but came for the party.
The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd was buoyant, slurping small plates filled with fare like pork sliders from chef Jose Garces, who runs the restaurant Amada in Philadelphia and had 400 pounds of meat on hand last night.
Chicago chefs, including Sandra Holl of the bakery Floriole in Lincoln Park, were also on the floor, serving hungry revelers. Holl’s team was shelling out decadent bites of strawberry Basque cake, while the team behind Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi Bar was offering Ora King salmon and hamachi, served with watermelon, yuzu and chili crisp.
The smorgasbord of offerings also included a smoky, spicy bite of Oklahoma bison with puffed rice, cucumbers, pickled pearl onions and more from chef Jeff Chanchaleune, who runs Ma Der Lao Kitchen in Oklahoma City.
While some booths — like the “Tito’s Texas Roots” bar, where drinks were poured by bartenders in cowboy hats — came with a corporate-sponsor aftertaste, the heart of the event was chefs serving chefs, while people caught up with one another in what felt like a big family reunion.
Even the Chicagoans who did not take home hardware from the main stage event were in good spirits.
Dang was among the finalists for best chef, Great Lakes, a win that ultimately went to chef Noah Sandoval of Oriole in the West Loop. But Dang said at the after-party that he felt great.
“We’re going to keep going until we win,” Dang said with a beaming smile.
Andrés Clavero, the owner of Galit in Lincoln Park, shared that sentiment. He said their restaurant has been full this week of culinary world visitors who are grabbing a meal while in town for the Beards. The Middle Eastern eatery was Chicago’s sole finalist in the Outstanding Restaurant category, one of the night’s top honors. Despite not winning the medal, which went to Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado, Clavero said it’s been an “amazing” experience.
The team behind Lems Bar-B-Q in Chicago’s Park Manor neighborhood, which was recognized with an America’s Classics honor from the Beards, were enjoying the night out — and were thankful to have the following day off to recoup before getting back in the kitchen. But some chefs knew they’d be back to work the next day.
Jeanie Janas Ritter and Adam Ritter own Bûcheron in Minneapolis, which won best new restaurant. The husband-wife team was driving home Tuesday to open up shop.
Their Twin Cities neighbor, chef Christina Nguyen of the restaurant Hai Hai, won a Beard last year. But this year, she was at the after-party, serving an English pea wonton with tom kha broth and coconut-chili crisp. As she readied dishes, she said, “I’m excited to be back, feeding people.”
Courtney Kueppers is an arts and culture reporter at WBEZ.