The James Beard Awards 2026 returned to Chicago on Monday night, with the ceremony held at Downtown’s Lyric Opera House and sold out before the first award was handed out. Even so, people who were not inside could still watch from home through a livestream on Bon Appétit’s website.

The night began at 6 p.m. and centered on three Chicago chefs who were finalists. Bailey Sullivan of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio was up for emerging chef, while Norman Fenton of Cariño and Jacob Potashnick of Feld were finalists in the regional Best Chef Great Lakes category. Bailey Sullivan, who appeared in season 22 of Top Chef, has worked at Sarah Grueneberg’s West Loop Italian restaurant for a decade.

Gail Simmons hosted the ceremony, which also included appearances by Issa Rae and Luke Tennie and a performance by Killer Mike and EL-P as Run the Jewels. The awards have been staged in Chicago since 2015, after moving from New York, and the James Beard Foundation said this year marked its 40th anniversary of championing the independent restaurant industry and American food culture.

That long run is now locked in for several more years. Earlier this spring, the James Beard Foundation and Choose Chicago said the awards would stay in Chicago through 2028, extending a hold that former Mayor Rahm Emanuel helped secure in 2018 through 2027. The new agreement keeps one of the industry’s biggest nights in the city at a time when Chicago chefs continue to place among the finalists.

What the ceremony did not settle, at least in the moment, was which of those finalists walked away with the trophies. Chicago had reason to pay close attention either way. It was the home crowd, the room was full, and the city’s place on the awards calendar is not a one-off anymore.