James Beard Finalists Revealed: The Surprises, Snubs, and Secrets!!

About this episode

Adrienne and Joe discuss the surprises and omissions in the 2026 James Beard Award Nominee finalists.

The 2026 James Beard Award Nominee finalists were just announced, so Adrienne and Joe dive headfirst into the biggest surprises, omissions, and things they’d like to see happen this year. In this episode, we discuss: The biggest names to make each of the lists Why weren’t there any Caribbean restaurants represented? An explanation on how the awards process works What they’d like to see changed, and why the regional layout may need a makeover Adrienne Cheatham is a member of the James Beard Awards subcommittee Follow the show: @chefscutpod Follow Adrienne: @chefadriennecheatham Follow Joe: @insta.flamm

People in this episode

Hosts: Adrienne Cheatham, Joe

Topics covered

• James Beard Awards
• food industry
• restaurant representation
• awards process
• surprises and snubs

Keywords

• James Beard Awards
• finalists
• surprises
• snubs
• food industry
• awards process
• Caribbean restaurants

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: James Beard Awards

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