James Beard Awards set June 13–15

The James Beard Foundation has set its 2026 awards weekend in Chicago for June 13 through June 15, with the Restaurant and Chef Awards scheduled for Monday, June 15. The dates had circulated in trade coverage, but the foundation’s own awards pages now show that key pieces of the program are already in place, including nominee announcements and ticket sales. The Media Awards are scheduled for Saturday, June 13, and the Restaurant and Chef ceremony is set for the Lyric Opera of Chicago two days later. The foundation has also said Impact Award honorees will be recognized in Chicago on Sunday, June 14, and again on stage on June 15. ### Weren’t organizers still saying nominees and tickets were coming later? March 31 changed that timeline. The James Beard Foundation published its 2026 Restaurant and Chef Award nominees that day and said tickets for the Restaurant and Chef Awards in Chicago were available for purchase. May 6 brought another major release. The foundation published the 2026 Media Award nominees and said winners in Book, Broadcast Media and Journalism categories would be announced at the Art Institute of Chicago on Saturday, June 13. That means the current state of play is more advanced than an early “save the date” notice. The dates remain June 13-15, but the nominee phase is already underway and some event logistics are public. ### What happens on each day in Chicago? Saturday, June 13 is the Media Awards ceremony. Choose Chicago and the James Beard Foundation say that event honors cookbook and food-book authors, broadcast producers, hosts, podcasters and food journalists, with the 2026 ceremony set in Chicago. Sunday, June 14 is reserved in part for achievement honors. The foundation says its 2026 Impact Award honorees will be acknowledged at a ceremony in Chicago that day. Monday, June 15 is the main Restaurant and Chef Awards night. The foundation’s awards page says the ceremony will take place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, one of the signature venues tied to the awards’ Chicago run in recent years. ### Which parts of the awards are already public? January 21 was the first major 2026 milestone for the Restaurant and Chef side. The foundation released its semifinalists and said winners would be celebrated on June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. March 31 added the finalists. In that same announcement, the foundation also named its 2026 Impact Award honorees as well as Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year honorees, saying those recipients would be recognized in Chicago during awards weekend. May 6 added the Media Award nominee list. The foundation said that ceremony would, for the first time, take place at the Art Institute of Chicago. ### Where does Chicago fit into the awards this year? Chicago remains the host city for the full awards weekend. Choose Chicago’s event page lists the Media Awards on June 13 and ties the broader James Beard Awards programming to the city. The Lyric Opera of Chicago is the named site for the June 15 Restaurant and Chef Awards, according to the foundation. The Art Institute of Chicago is the named site for the June 13 Media Awards, also according to the foundation. Separate citywide programming is also being built around the ceremonies. Chicago food and tourism groups have promoted a wider lineup of dinners, collaborations and related events around the June awards weekend, though the core awards schedule comes from the foundation’s own pages. ### So what should readers watch next? June 13 is the next fixed public milestone, when Media Award winners are scheduled to be announced at the Art Institute of Chicago. June 14 follows with the Chicago ceremony recognizing Impact Award honorees. June 15 is the capstone date. The James Beard Foundation says the 2026 Restaurant and Chef Awards winners, along with America’s Classics honorees and other special award recipients, will be celebrated that night at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.