Chancho King for Beard

María Delia La Mota of Chancho King in Jacksonville is now a finalist for Best Chef: South at the 2026 James Beard Awards. (jamesbeard.org) The James Beard Foundation published the 2026 restaurant and chef nominees on March 31, 2026. Winners are scheduled to be announced on June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. (jamesbeard.org; jamesbeard.org) Chancho King is an Ecuadorian restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, and local coverage identifies La Mota and Chason Spencer as the chefs behind it. A recent News4JAX segment said the restaurant serves Ecuadorian flavors in the city’s Murray Hill area. (usatoday.com; news4jax.com) The nomination puts an Ecuadorian-born chef into one of the James Beard Foundation’s regional chef races, a category that covers the American South. The foundation describes the awards as national honors for restaurant and bar professionals in the United States. (jamesbeard.org) La Mota’s run has drawn attention in Ecuador as well as Florida. El Universo reported on April 15 that her finalist spot is being followed at home as a marker of Ecuadorian cuisine gaining visibility in the United States. (eluniverso.com) Chancho King’s rise has been fast. Hoodline reported that the business began as a tent pop-up before moving into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, while the restaurant’s own site now markets Jacksonville Ecuadorian food directly to customers. (hoodline.com; chanchoking.square.site) The foundation first named Chancho King a semifinalist on January 21 before narrowing the field to finalists at the end of March. That left La Mota still in contention heading into the June ceremony in Chicago. (jamesbeard.org; jamesbeard.org) For now, the next date is June 15. That is when the James Beard Foundation says it will decide whether Chancho King’s Ecuadorian cooking turns a finalist spot into a win. (jamesbeard.org)