James Beard honors 16 chefs, eateries in California. 1 finalist in Central Coast

The prestigious James Beard Foundation announced on Tuesday its list of more than 100 finalists for the 2026 edition of its Restaurant and Chef Awards, including 16 entries from California.

Although the state’s rich culinary landscape was well-represented, however most of the nominations went to establishments and chefs in the state’s major metro areas of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, Californian restaurants and food professionals from a wider area were named semifinalists for this year’s awards. Entries from Auburn, Los Alamos, Montecito, Carlsbad and Calistoga received a nod from the foundation in January, but only one of them made it to the finalist round.

The Los Alamos entry — chef Daisy Ryan from Bell’s — is one of five finalists for the Best Chef: California category, whittled down from 20 semifinalists.

The James Beard Awards nominee list comes days after the coveted Michelin Guide released its list of new additions to the California guide — of which most were located in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, with the exception of Little Mountain in Montecito.

The winners of this year’s James Beard Awards will be announced in a ceremony on Monday, June 15 in Chicago.

2026 James Beard Award finalists from California

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar, Cal-India Collective (Ettan, Copra, Eylan and Little Blue Door) – Palo Alto, San Francisco, Menlo Park and Los Altos

Outstanding Chef

• Gilberto Cetina, Holbox – Los Angeles
• Niki Nakayama, n/naka – Los Angeles
• Michael Tusk, Quince – San Francisco

Emerging Chef

• Fátima Juárez, Komal – Los Angeles

Best New Restaurant

• Ki – Los Angeles

Outstanding Hospitality

• Providence – Los Angeles

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

• Kato – Los Angeles

Outstanding Bar

• Smuggler’s Cove – San Francisco

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service

• Jack Benchakul, endorffeine coffee bar – Los Angeles

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service

• Kevin Diedrich, Pacific Cocktail Haven – San Francisco

Best Chef: California

• Dave Beran, Seline, Santa Monica
• Harrison Cheney, Sons & Daughters, San Francisco
• Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu, Sun Moon Studio, Oakland
• Kwang Uh, Baroo, Los Angeles
• Daisy Ryan, Bell’s, Los Alamos

Camila Pedrosa

The Sacramento Bee

Camila Pedrosa is the California Diversions Reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked on The Bee’s service journalism team and was a summer reporting intern for The Bee in 2024. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.