Beard nod for Chancho King

María Delia La Mota and Chason Spencer of Jacksonville’s Chancho King are finalists for the 2026 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South. (jamesbeard.org) The James Beard Foundation announced the finalists on March 31, 2026, and said winners will be named June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. (jamesbeard.org) Chancho King is an Ecuadorian restaurant in Jacksonville’s Murray Hill neighborhood, and La Mota and Spencer run it as a husband-and-wife team. (jacksonville.com) The nomination puts an Ecuadorian restaurant from Northeast Florida into one of the Beard Awards’ regional chef races, a category that covers the South. The foundation describes the awards as a top honor in the United States restaurant industry. (jamesbeard.org) For Chancho King, the finalist spot came after an earlier cut in January, when the restaurant’s chefs were named semifinalists for the same award. The foundation published that semifinalist list on January 21, 2026. (jamesbeard.org) The restaurant’s rise has been gradual. News4JAX reported that La Mota and Spencer started with a tent pop-up six years ago before moving into a brick-and-mortar space in Murray Hill. (news4jax.com) Jacksonville.com separately traced Chancho King’s early run to a pop-up inside Aardwolf Brewing Company before the couple opened their own restaurant. (jacksonville.com) Chancho King is also expanding while awards season is still underway. Jacksonville.com reported in March that the restaurant is opening a second location at BLOCK Jax, an outdoor food hall in Jacksonville. (jacksonville.com) The next test is June 15 in Chicago, when the Beard Foundation will decide whether Chancho King’s finalist run ends with a regional chef win. (jamesbeard.org)