News James Beard Foundation Awards 2018: These Are This Year's Winners In its 28-year existence, the James Beard Foundation Awards have come to be recognized as the top honor of America's restaurant industry. By Maria Yagoda Maria Yagoda Instagram Twitter Maria Yagoda is a senior editor at Food & Wine, where she has worked for five years, specializing in restaurant and travel coverage. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 7, 2018 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Victor Spinelli / Getty Images James Beard Awards Gala, which took place in Chicago on May 7, celebrated the chef and restaurant category of the prestigious food-industry awards. Carla Hall, of ABC's The Chew, hostedthe ceremony. The theme of the awards was "Rise," which was "meant to celebrate the collective spirit of our community and the power of food," the JBF site reads. "Whether championing causes, committing to values, speaking up for those who can't be heard, or cooking their hearts out, our food community rises to meet the challenges, to complete the tasks, and to make this world a better, more delicious place for everyone." Seattle's JuneBaby, which was a F&W Best Restaurant of the Year 2018, was named Best New Restaurant, making its founding chef Eduardo Jordan the first African-American chef in the Awards' 28-year history to receive the honor. (Jordan also won Best Chef: Northwest for Salare.)Gabrielle Hamilton, of Prune in NYC, won the honor of Outstanding Chef. Below, see the full list of winners announced on Monday night. (These were the nominees.) James Beard Award Winners Rising Star Chef of the Year Camille Cogswell (Zahav, Philadelphia, PA) Outstanding Baker Belinda Leong and Michel Suas (B. Patisserie, San Francisco, CA) Outstanding Pastry Chef Dolester Miles (Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL) Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional Miljenko Grgich (Grgich Hills Estate, Rutherford, CA) Outstanding Wine Program FIG (Charleston, SC) Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA) Jeremiah Langhorne (The Dabney, Washington DC) Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV) Rodney Scott (Rodney Scott's BBQ, Charleston, SC) Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, Puerto Rico) Nina Compton (Compère Lapin, New Orleans, LA) Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH) Abraham Conlon (Fat Rice, Chicago, IL) Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY State, RI, VT) Karen Akunowicz (Myers + Chang, Boston, MA) Best Chef: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY) Edouardo Jordan (Salare, Seattle, WA) Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, CO, NM, OK, TX, UT) Alex Seidel (Mercantile Dining & Provision, Denver, CO) Best Chef: West (CA, HI, NV) Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn, San Francisco, CA) Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI) Gavin Kaysen (Spoon and Stable, Minneapolis) Best Chef: New York City Missy Robbins (Lilia, Brooklyn, NY) Best New Restaurant JuneBaby, Seattle, WA Outstanding Service Zuni Café, San Francisco, CA Outstanding Restaurateur Caroline Styne, The Lucques Group, Los Angeles, CA Outstanding Restaurant Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL Outstanding Chef Gabrielle Hamilton (Prune, NYC) Outstanding Restaurant Design (75 seats and under) Firm: The MP Shift Designers: Amy Morris, Anna Polonsky, and Julie Nerenberg Project: De Maria, NYC Outstanding Restaurant Design (76 seats and over) Firms: Aidlin Darling Design with a l m project Designers: Joshua Aidlin, David Darling, Adam Rouse, and Andrea Lenardin Madden Project: In Situ, San Francisco MSNBC's Tamron Hall hosted the James Beard Foundation Media Awards on April 27 at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit