Courtesy of H Town Restaurant Group
Houston-based Chef Hugo Ortega won a James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Southwest” in 2017.
A total of six chefs, restaurants and restaurant groups from the Houston area were named finalists Tuesday for the 2026 James Beard Awards, and a local foundation created by a former winner is being recognized for its impact on the hospitality industry.
Chris Shepherd’s Houston-based Southern Smoke Foundation is one of five recipients of this year’s Impact Awards, which were created last year. Since 2017, the foundation has donated more than $16 million in emergency relief funding to food-and-beverage workers across the United States while also providing more than 10,000 workers with access to mental health services, according to the James Beard Foundation.
The Southern Smoke Foundation and the other Impact Awards recipients will be acknowledged at a ceremony in Chicago in mid-June, when the winners of this year’s James Beard Awards will be revealed. The awards are considered one of the highest honors in the culinary industry.
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Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught of the H-Town Restaurant Group, which includes Hugo’s, Xochi and Urbe, are among the finalists this year for Outstanding Restaurateur. Adrian Torres of Maximo, located in West University Place, is in the running for Emerging Chef, while Houston’s Agnes and Sherman is a finalist for Best New Restaurant.
June Rodil of March is a finalist for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service.
A total of three Houston chefs – Ope Amosu of ChopnBlock, along with Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu of JŪN – are finalists for Best Chef in Texas.
Chef Evelyn Garcia of JŪN at the 2024 Southern Smoke Festival.
Houston-area chefs have claimed the latter award in two of the last three years. The 2025 honor went to Thomas Bille of Belly of the Beast in Spring, while Benchawan Jabthong Painter of Thai restaurant Street to Kitchen won the award in 2023.
RELATED: Houston restaurants and chefs receive 12 semifinalist nods for 2026 James Beard Awards
Houston had its only winner in a national James Beard Award category in 2022, when owner Alba Huerta and Julep prevailed in Outstanding Bar Program.
This year’s national awards include three other finalists from Texas. Mixtli in San Antonio is in the running for Outstanding Restaurant, and the group of finalists for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker includes Maggie Huff of Lucia in Dallas and Tavel Bristol-Joseph of Nicosi in San Antonio.
The complete list of finalists can be found on the James Beard Foundation’s website.
Here are the Houston area’s finalists: