Houston has taken home two James Beard Awards this year. 

At the ceremony on June 15 in Chicago, Adrian Torres, the 27-year-old chef leading West University restaurant Maximo, was named Emerging Chef, and Top Chef alums Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu of Heights restaurant Jūn won the award for the Best Chef: Texas category, marking the most Houston wins in a single year and the only showing in Texas.

Torres’s path to the podium was anything but straightforward. Raised in Aldine, he first fell in love with baking as a kid, watching Cake Boss before pivoting to culinary school at San Jacinto College after his DACA status barred him from his dream program at the Art Institute of Houston. He cut his teeth at Hugo Ortega’s Xochi, survived the pandemic-era closure of Belly of the Beast, and eventually found his home at El Topo—the restaurant that would become Maximo. When chef and owner Tony Luhrman stepped back from day-to-day operations in late 2023, Torres stepped up, revamping the menu around what he calls “progressive Mexican” cuisine. Torres’s menu is rooted in authenticity, drawing on his own Mexican heritage, and finished with a modern hand. One of the major highlights is the ever-affordable $45 tasting menu, featuring a rotating selection of dishes that have included a masa cornbread crowned with chicatana butter and caviar, brisket confit tacos, and a playful banana buñuelo paired with ice cream.

Torres trained under Thomas Bille, the 2025 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Texas—making their connection one of the more remarkable throughlines in Houston’s culinary moment. He was one of six nominees in the Emerging Chef category, marking a significant year for the city.

In his acceptance speech, Torres addressed the weight of the moment directly—noting the fear he once felt about his DACA status. “I refuse to let fear be the headline,” he said. “Tonight the headline is that a brown kid from the North Side, raised by parents who sacrificed everything for a chance at a better life, is standing on this stage accepting one of the highest honors in this industry.”

“I am excited to bring this award back to the city,” he added. “Desde el norte de Houston para el mundo.”

Garcia and Lu—who appeared on Top Chef in 2022 and 2025, respectively—also took the stage, thanking their immigrant parents for allowing them to be where they are and their team for its dedication. Garcia emphasized that Lu supported her dream of opening a restaurant where they could cook and be creative, offering an eclectic fusion of Southeast Asian and Latin cuisines, as well as a daytime coffee shop, Third Place, where chefs can host pop-ups and experiment. 

“There’s room for everyone,” Garcia said. “There’s a space to tell our story... It’s meant to be heard, and we deserve to be here.”

Southern Smoke Foundation also earned a spot as a 2026 Impact Award honoree and received its award earlier in the James Beard Award weekend. Launched last year, this award builds on the previous Leadership Awards, which were retired in 2024. According to the foundation, these awards recognize “changemakers 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.”

Houston also had an impressive showing of six finalists this year, including:

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service: June Rodil from March. Winner: Lee Campbell of New York’s Borgo

Best New Restaurant: Agnes and Sherman. Winner: New York restaurant Lei

Outstanding Restaurateur: Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught, H-Town Restaurant Group (Hugo’s, Xochi, Urbe, and others). Winner: Dana Street (Fore Street, Scales, Standard Baking Co., and others), Portland, ME

A full list of winners can be found here.

The James Beard Awards—often called the Oscars of the food world—have recognized excellence in American cuisine since the first in-person ceremony in 1991. The awards take their name from James Beard—the influential food writer, television personality, and cooking school founder who helped shape how Americans think about food. Each year, the James Beard Foundation deploys hundreds of judges across the country to evaluate restaurants and identify the best talent in the industry.

Houston has had its share of memorable moments on that stage. In 2022, Alba Huerta’s cocktail bar Julep earned Outstanding Bar Program—the city’s first win in a national category. The following year, chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter of Thai restaurant Street to Kitchen became the first Houston chef to win Best Chef: Texas. This category didn’t exist until 2020, when the region was carved out from the broader Best Chef: Southwest designation. Chefs Chris Shepherd and Hugo Ortega had previously claimed the Southwest title in 2014 and 2017, respectively.

After a quiet 2024, Houston returned to the winner’s circle last year when Thomas Bille of Spring’s Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Belly of the Beast took home Best Chef: Texas—a victory that set the stage for Torres’s win and what is shaping up to be one of the city’s strongest stretches in the awards’ history.

Disclosure: Some members of Houstonia staff are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards.