Six Alabama chefs and one restaurant have been announced as semifinalists for the 2026 James Beard Awards, one of the food and beverage world’s most prestigious honors.
The James Beard Foundation announced its restaurant and chef semifinalists today. The semifinalists from Alabama are:
- Rob McDaniel of Bayonet in Birmingham for Outstanding Chef
- Kristen Hall of La Fête in Birmingham for Best Chef (South)
- Geri-Martha O’Hara and Ryan O’Hara of Pizza Grace in Birmingham for Best Chef (South)
- Jim Smith of The Hummingbird Way in Mobile for Best Chef (South)
- Eric Bennett of Continental Drift in Birmingham for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
- Bottega in Birmingham for Outstanding Hospitality
Chef Rob McDaniel is a six-time James Beard semifinalist. He opened Bayonet in 2025, and the restaurant is no stranger to garnering accolades. In its first year, it was a Michelin “Bib Gourmand” pick, named one of the 50 best restaurants in America by the New York Times and named among on the 15 best by Eater.com.
Chef Kristen Hall opened La Fete, alongside Chef Victor King, in 2022. The Parisian-inspired wine bar and bistro was also one of Michelin’s five “Bib Gourmand” picks in Alabama. Hall is also known for Bandit Patisserie, a bakery that specializes in “small batch, seasonally driven pastries” in Birmingham.
Potato pavé at La Fête in Birmingham, Ala.(Photo by Stacy K. Allen; used with permission from La Fête)
Ryan and Geri-Martha O’Hara, also the owners and founders of Big Spoon Creamery, bought Pizza Grace, which was named a semifinalist in the 2023 James Beard Awards, in 2025. It also garnered a spot as one of Michelin’s five “Bib Gourmand” picks in Alabama this year.
Eric Bennett is a longtime Birmingham bartender who opened the Continental Drift in 2021 after a series of successful bartender pop-ups of the same name offering specialty beverages. He also appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live’s Cocktails de la Casa in 2020.
Chef Jim Smith of The Hummingbird Way is a former executive chef for the state of Alabama, “Top Chef” competitor and Great American Seafood Cook-Off winner. The restaurant offers an upscale oyster bar that creates memorable dishes using local seafood, produce and more.
Bottega opened in 1988 and offers Southern-Italian fare by four-time James Beard Award nominee Chef Frank Stitt. It received a Michelin Outstanding Service Award, one of four special awards bestowed by Michelin, this year in addition to being named of the “20 Friendliest Places In The South” by Southern Living.
Bottega in Birmingham. (Joe Songer | [email protected]). Joe Songer | [email protected]
The James Beard Awards recognize exceptional talent in the culinary and food media industries, as well as a demonstrated commitment to equity, sustainability, and creating a culture where all can thrive, according to the James Beard Foundation’s website. The Restaurant and Chef Awards, established in 1990, celebrate excellence across all types of dining experiences, from fine dining to casual establishments, and are one of several recognition programs of the Awards.
Previous James Beard Award winners from Alabama include:
- Adam Evans, Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, Best Chef: South, 2022.
- Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, Outstanding Restaurant, 2018.
- Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, Outstanding Pastry Chef, 2018.
- Chris Hastings, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Birmingham, Best Chef: South, 2012.
- The Bright Star, Bessemer, America’s Classic, 2010.
- Frank Stitt, Highlands Bar and Grill, Best Chef: Southeast, 2001; named to the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, 2011.
The 2026 James Beard Awards Ceremonies will be held in Chicago from June 13-15, 2026.
For the complete list of this year’s James Beard Awards semifinalists, go here.
