New James Beard finalists
E.J. Lagasse was named a 2026 James Beard Awards finalist for Best Emerging Chef, highlighted for his Portuguese‑American roots and Fall River ties. (heraldnews.com) Separately, Earl Reynolds of Whitefish was named a finalist for Best Chef for the second time in his career. (kpax.com)
Two chefs in very different corners of the country are heading to the same national shortlist: E.J. Lagasse in New Orleans and Earl Reynolds in Whitefish are 2026 James Beard Award finalists. (jamesbeard.org) The James Beard Foundation announced its 2026 Restaurant and Chef Award finalists on March 31. Winners are scheduled to be revealed on June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. (jamesbeard.org) Lagasse is a finalist for Emerging Chef for his work at Emeril’s in New Orleans. The foundation’s five-person finalist list in that category includes chefs from Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Texas, and New Orleans. (jamesbeard.org) Reporting in southeastern Massachusetts tied Lagasse’s nomination to his Portuguese-American family background and Fall River roots through his father, Emeril Lagasse, who was born in Fall River. The local story also identified E.J. Lagasse as his son. (heraldnews.com) Reynolds is a finalist for Best Chef in the Mountain region, which covers Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. Yellowstone Public Radio identified him as one of Montana’s two 2026 James Beard finalists. (ypradio.org) KPAX reported that Reynolds was born and raised in Whitefish and now serves as executive chef at Herb & Omni on Central Avenue downtown. The station also said this is his second career trip to the James Beard finals after a 2023 finalist nod while he was at Stone Hill Kitchen and Bar in Bigfork. (kpax.com) The split between their categories helps explain why both names are drawing attention at once. Emerging Chef spotlights newer national talent, while Best Chef is awarded by region and measures chefs against peers across a multistate map. (jamesbeard.org; jamesbeard.org) The awards themselves carry unusual weight in restaurant culture because the James Beard Foundation has been running them for nearly four decades and uses them to recognize chefs, restaurants, bars, and hospitality leaders across the United States. (jamesbeard.org; jamesbeard.org) For Lagasse, the finalist slot puts a young chef at the center of a famous family name and a New Orleans flagship restaurant. For Reynolds, it puts a hometown Montana chef back on a national stage three years after his last finalist run. (heraldnews.com; kpax.com) The next date on both chefs’ calendars is June 15 in Chicago, when the finalist list turns into winners. Until then, both nominations already place Emeril’s and Herb & Omni inside the James Beard Foundation’s top tier for 2026. (jamesbeard.org)
