Arizona snubbed in 2026 James Beard Award finals

A dozen Arizona chefs, plenty of food fans and writers eagerly awaited the news on Tuesday morning, as the 2026 James Beard Awards finalists were announced. Unfortunately, the announcement was a sad one for Arizona, with none of the state’s semifinalists moving forward into the finalist round.

The James Beard Awards are widely regarded as the Oscars of food, with the medal ceremony including a red carpet, giving chefs the opportunity to step in front of the curtain and celebrate their accomplishments. The medals will be handed out at a glamorous night at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, on June 15.

Following the shocking reduction on Tuesday, that national stage won’t see any Arizona chefs this year. As the awards rolled out, the individual categories, such as Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Bar slowly got ticked off. And then in one fell swoop, the Best Chef: Southwest category wiped out seven Arizona names. Chefs from every other state in the category, New Mexico, Nevada and Oklahoma, advanced. But Arizona was noticeably absent.

This news comes amid the ongoing mystery surrounding the Michelin Guide. The global restaurant recommendation platform is coming to Arizona for the first time, with a new regional guide. Much like the James Beard Best Chef: Southwest category, this guide will group restaurants from multiple states. When, exactly, restaurants in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah find out if they have earned any stars remains to be seen.

But with zero Arizonans in the mix for the James Beard Awards this year, the anticipation for recognition takes on a different flavor.

From 12 semifinalists to none

This year’s snub is reminiscent of 2023, a year where we had a similarly strong showing in the semifinals, only to be totally blocked out in the finalist round. That year, Phoenix New Times even gave the event an award of its own: the Best of Phoenix’s Best Snub. Three years later, we might have to pull out that award once again.

Here are the Arizona chefs, restaurants and bar pros previously named semifinalists in January:

Outstanding Chef – Charleen Badman, FnB, Scottsdale

Best New Restaurant – Indibar, Scottsdale

Outstanding Bar – Highball, Phoenix

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service – Zac Adcox, Cafe Monarch, Scottsdale

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service – Ross Simon, Little Rituals, Phoenix