The 2026 Winners of the Banchets, Chicago's Local Food Awards

As Grant Achatz, the chef behind a restaurant that has frequently been named among the greatest in the world, accepted a lifetime achievement award at Chicago’s Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence, he said, “We wouldn’t have been able to do this in any other city, I don't think, with any other community of industry professionals.” 

 

“This” was the boundary-pushing Alinea, which celebrated twenty years of inspiring diners and chefs with mind-blowing dishes like edible balloons and desserts spread directly on a table like a painting. In a pre-recorded video at the ceremony, which took place at Venue SIX10 downtown and was live-streamed for the first time on NBC, Achatz espoused creativity as his watchword and argued that cuisine is art. 

 

He certainly didn’t need to defend it to the crowd of food and hospitality people in the audience, who honored him with two standing ovations. (The warm reception was a contrast to Alinea's sudden demotion to two Michelin stars from three last year.) 

 

“This is a city that stands up for each other...now more tha never” said El Che Steakhouse & Bar and Brasero’s John Manion of Chicago’s restaurant industry upon being named Chef of the Year. Part of the ceremony's proceeds went to the nonprofit Giving Kitchen, which supports food service workers in crisis.

 

The Banchets honor Chicago’s own, and Chicago’s own turn up for them. John Shields, who once worked under Achatz and praised him in the pre-recorded video for his award, presented the Chef of the Year award despite running the three Michelin star Smyth and it being his birthday, as host Michael Muser pointed out. 

 

But the Banchets don’t just celebrate fine dining. The Wiener Circle’s infamous Poochie presented Best Hospitality (“I better be nominated next year,” she said), while Rahim Muhammad of the African diaspora spot Mahari, which won Best Neighborhood Restaurant, thanked the awards for “recognizing people who are just working hard.”

 

In addition to Achatz’s lifetime achievement, one other award recognized longevity, with Gene & Georgetti, the steakhouse now in its ninth decade, receiving an Iconic Restaurant designation. The legendary breakfast restaurateur Ina Pinkney recalled in presenting the award that her first meal in Chicago was at Gene & Georgetti’s, and it made her fall in love with the city. 

The nominees and winners of the Banchets strive to do that every day in their restaurants, judging from their speeches and enthusiasm: to serve people a meal, a pastry, a drink that they never forget, and that makes them recognize that Chicago is one of the great dining cities in the world, at least according to the presenters and winners. 

Find the full list of winners below.

Rising Chef of the Year

Javauneeka Jacobs of Frontera Grill - Jacobs worked her way up from line cook to leader (she was just promoted to co-chef) at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill, which she said was the only place that would hire her as a cook and not a dishwasher, despite her culinary training. Jacobs has won a Julia Child-themed competition on the TV competition show Chopped.

Best New Restaurant

Feld - Jacob Potashnick's "relationship-to-table" restaurant is one of the most talked-about places in the city for its hyper-seasonal tasting menu and welcoming service (it also won Best Hospitality at the Banchets). Potashnick is also a semifinalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes at this year's James Beard Awards, and Feld was named one of America's best new restaurants by Bon Appétit. Despite the current accolades, it was savaged online when it first opened – but Potashnick said Chicago's culinary community supported him through it. "Feld is good!" the front-of-house manage who accepted the Best Hospitality award shouted at the end of his speech, in reference to the early controversy.

Best Neighborhood Restaurant

Mahari - Opened almost exactly a year ago in Hyde Park, Mahari offers a tour of the world via the African diaspora, with dishes from New Orleans, Nigeria, East Africa, and the Caribbean, reflecting Chef Rahim Muhammad's background; his mother is also part of the restaurant.

Sommelier of the Year

Alex Cuper of Brasero, El Che Steakhouse & Bar - Cuper has received acclaim for his entirely South American wine list at El Che. His wine list at Brasero just led to a James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. The restaurants' chef and owner John Manion also won Chef of the Year at the Banchets.

Best Counter Service

Sanders BBQ Supply Co. - "It's been a big year for us," a visibly emotional James Sanders said in his speech. Indeed: his Beverly spot was named a best restaurant by the New York Times, pitmaster Nick Kleutsch and Sanders are James Beard Awards semifinalists for Best Chef: Great Lakes, and they're opening a second location in Hyde Park. Kleutsch grew up in Northwest Indiana, and shared some go-to spots in The Region with us. 

Best Hospitality

Feld - See the Best New Restaurant category above for more about this seasonal tasting menu restaurant.

Bar of the Year or Beverage Program of the Year

Gus’ Sip & Dip, Kevin Beary and Scott Kitsmiller - Lettuce Entertain You opened Gus' Sip & Dip last year across the street from Beary's acclaimed Three Dots and a Dash, and its $12 classic cocktails have proven extremely popular. Beary also won a Banchet in 2020.

Best Heritage Restaurant

Nine Garden - This Chinatown spot serves Shanghai-style food out of a strip mall like a crab lion's head meatball in a hot pot.

Best Restaurant Design

The Alston - "Entering this curtain-cloaked neverland, which stretches the length of a whole city block, feels a little like Alice tumbling through the looking glass," wrote Maggie Hennessy about The Alston in a piece for WTTW about the Banchet Restaurant Design nominees. The steakhouse includes a member's club, several patio spaces, a digital art wall, a wine cellar with a secret door, and many more maximalist touches. "t hits us over the head with the fact that, even on a random weeknight, dining here is an occasion," Hennessy wrote.

Pastry Chef of the Year

Justin Lerias of Del Sur Bakery & Cafe - Lerias spoke through tears as he accepted his award. After all, he is only 24 and his fledgling Ravenswood bakery has drawn lines for its Filipino flavor-infused pastries for almost a whole year. He said in his speech that he hoped to provide an example of better treatment of workers without sacrificing on financial success.

Chef of the Year

John Manion of El Che Steakhouse & Bar, Brasero - "It's hard not to feel even after all these years a little bit of impostor syndrome looking around this room," Manion said as he accepted the top individual award of the year. But his live-fire cooking at the Argentinian El Che and the Brazilian-ish Brasero has plenty of fans in Chicago's restaurant world. The restaurants' Alex Cuper won Sommelier of the Year as well.

Restaurant of the Year

Indienne - This is Indienne's second Banchet: the Michelin-starred Indian tasting menu spot won Best New Restaurant in 2024. Its chef Sujan Sarkar has a growing empire in Chicago, including the Middle Eastern Sifr, whose chef Sahil Sethi accepted the award on behalf of the traveling Sarkar, and the regional Indian Nadu.