Oscars of the Food World

Houston earns 6 finalist nominations in the 2026 James Beard Awards

Houston had an impressive showing in the next round of the 2026 James Beard Awards. Of the city’s 12 semifinalist nominations, four have been named finalists in the nationwide categories as well as two for Best Chef: Texas. The six total nominations are two more than the four that Houston chefs and restaurants earned in 2025.

Here are all of the nominees in the national categories:

Emerging Chef: Adrian Torres, Maximo (Houston)
Best New Restaurant: Agnes and Sherman (Houston)
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service: June Rodil, March (Houston)
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Nicosi (San Antonio)
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Maggie Huff, Lucia (Dallas)
Outstanding Restaurateur: Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught, H-Town Restaurant Group (Houston)
Outstanding Restaurant: Mixtli (San Antonio)

The nominees for Best Chef: Texas include three people from Houston. Here are all of the nominees in the category:

Ope Amosu, ChòpnBlọk (Houston)
Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, JŪN (Houston)
Scott Girling, Osteria il Muro (Denton)
Gabe Padilla and Melissa Padilla, Cafe Piro (Socorro)
Finn Walter, The Nicolett (Lubbock)

Along with the finalist announcement for its Restaurant and Chef Awards, the James Beard Foundation announced that the Houston-based Southern Smoke Foundation will be an Impact Award honoree. According to the foundation, the Impact Awards "recognize achievements by individuals and/or organizations who are actively working to push for standards that create a more equitable, sustainable, and economically viable restaurant industry and food system for producers, workers, and consumers alike."

In the semifinalist round, Houston led the way among Texas cities with 12 nominations. Austin earned nine nominations, followed by eight in Dallas and seven in San Antonio. Last year, Houston had four finalist nominations, including Thomas Bille of Belly of the Beast in Spring, who won Best Chef: Texas.

Notably, all of the Texas nominees are first-time finalists, except for Hugo Ortega, who won Best Chef: Southwest in 2017. March, the restaurant June Rodil leads as the CEO of Goodnight Hospitality, earned a finalist nomination in 2025 for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. Bristol-Joseph has earned significant national recognition from other groups, including a Food & Wine Best New Chef Award in 2020 and a Michelin star for Nicosi. Mixtli also holds a Michelin star.

Considered the Oscars of the food world, the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for its Restaurant and Chef Awards on Tuesday, March 31. The awards recognize excellence by chefs and other culinary professionals in a wide range of categories ranging from Outstanding Chef to Best New Restaurant. Last year, the James Beard Foundation added three new categories to recognize the beverage side of hospitality: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

Winners must also have “demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive,” according to the organization’s website.

The awards also include media categories that will be announced on May 6. The Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony will be held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on June 15.

Courtesy of Chopd & Stewd

Ope Amosu is participating in the James Beard event.

awards james beard awards chefs

Pizaro's on the move

Family-owned Houston pizzeria rises with 2 new locations

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The Meyerland location will serve New York-style pies.

A Houston pizzeria will expand its footprint with two new locations in Meyerland and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Slated to open in March 2027 and October 2026, respectively, the new locations will allow more Houstonians to enjoy Pizaro’s Pizza’s creative pies.

Brother-and-sister owners Matt Hutchinson and Nicole Bean, along with Nicole’s husband Brad Bean, have claimed a former dry cleaners at 9150 Chimney Rock for a new location that will operate for to-go and delivery only. Diners will have the option of picking up their orders via the restaurant’s drive-through. It is intended to make Pizaro’s most accessible to customers in West U., Meyerland, Bellaire, Westbury, and other surrounding neighborhoods.

Pizaro's Pizza Brad Bean, Nicole Bean, and Matt Hutchinson Brad Bean, Nicole Bean, and Matt Hutchinson are the owners of Pizaro's Pizza.Courtesy of Pizaro's Pizza

Notably, the Meyerland location will only serve styles of pizza that travel well, such as New York, Chicago cracker thin, and Detroit, a rectangular-shaped deep dish pie with crispy edges. It will not serve the wood-fired Neapolitan-style pies served at Pizaro’s existing locations in Montrose and the Energy Corridor.

On the other hand, the IAH restaurant, which will be located in Terminal B, will serve a variation on Neapolitan-style pizza that’s cooked in a gas-fired oven. For security and safety reasons, restaurants at the airport are not allowed to cook with wood. Nicole Bean tells CultureMap the IAH outpost will serve 10-inch, personal-sized pies.

Chicago cracker thin has been a special at both locations over the past couple of years. It will join the menu full time next month, Bean says.

“We’ve wanted to expand for a really long time. In 2020, we started to take steps toward making that dream a reality, but then the pandemic happened and we halted all planning,” Nicole Bean added in a statement. “We revisited the idea in 2024, and last year all the pieces started falling into place. Both locations fit the criteria of what we were looking for, and we’re thrilled to bring our pizzas to first timers and the customers we’ve fostered relationships with throughout the years.”

This year has been a dynamic one for Houston pizzerias. Winnie's co-owner Benjy Mason and chef Jason Kerr teamed up to open Shredder's, a retro-style pizzeria serving New York-style pies. In Spring, Pi Pizza and Gold Tooth Tony's founder Anthony Calleo recently opened Galaxy Pizza. In July, chef Angelo Emiliani began serving wood-fired pies at Angie's Pizza in the Heights.

openings pizza airport george bush intercontinental airport news-you-can-eat