Introduction to the Jean Banchet Awards
The finalists for Chicago’s top local food honor, the Jean Banchet Awards, were announced Thursday morning. This year’s list includes everything from Chicago steakhouses to a South Side barbecue spot, plus Middle Eastern food in Lincoln Park and Vietnamese fare in Pilsen.
About the Awards
The annual awards recognize excellence across 12 categories, including Best New Restaurant, Best Neighborhood Restaurant and Rising Chef of the Year.
Recognition of Chicago Restaurant Icons
“I think that it’s a great thing that once a year, our industry takes a deep breath and looks back upon the previous year and pays respect and homage to those that honed their craft so hardcore that they really kind of become a reason as to why the city is such a great food city,” said Michael Muser, the Banchet’s executive director.
The awards will also recognize a couple of Chicago restaurant icons. Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea will receive the Culinary Excellence Award. Plus, Gene & Georgetti, the well-known River North steakhouse, will be recognized with the first-ever Iconic Restaurant of the Year Award, reserved for establishments that have been open at least 25 years.
The Nominees
Grant Achatz will receive the Culinary Excellence Award at the 2026 Jean Banchet Awards.
“That category is meant to just pay respect to a restaurant that really has been around and become a part of the story of Chicago,” Muser said. “That you almost can’t even tell the story of Chicago restaurants without naming such a space, like Gene & Georgetti. It’s kind of woven itself into the fabric of the tale of our city.”
The finalists are selected by a group of anonymous “food nerds,” as Muser puts it, who dine out throughout the year and convene monthly to discuss what they’ve eaten.
The awards are named in honor of the legendary chef who ran Wheeling’s Le Francais restaurant in the 1970s and ’80s. Muser said Banchet helped put Chicago’s dining scene on the map.
Awardees will be announced at a downtown ceremony on Jan. 25.
Categories and Nominees
Restaurant of the Year
Cellar Door Provisions
HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen
Indienne
Proxi
Chef of the Year
Andrew Lim (Perilla, Perilla Steakhouse, Noriko)
Jennifer Kim (Proxi)
John Manion (El Che, Brasero)
Zubair Mohajir (Lilac Tiger, The Coach House, Mirra, Sarima)
Best New Restaurant
Cafe Yaya
Feld
Il Carciofo
Void
Rising Chef of the Year
Alex Cochran (Cellar Door Provisions)
Bailey Sullivan (Monteverde)
César Murillo (North Pond)
Javauneeka Jacobs (Frontera Grill)
<img class="Image" alt="Exterior of Bungalow by Middle Brow at 2840 W. Armitage Ave" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/19906bc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2500×1667+0+0/resize/840×560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fb7%2F5bb5f6684dfab3427d9596a2de48%2Fpizza-07xx24-4.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/012aaf0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2500×1667+0+0/resize/1680×1120!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fb7%2F5bb5f6684dfab3427d9596a2de48%2Fpizza-07xx24-4.jpg 2x" width="840" height="560" src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/19906bc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2500×1667+0+0/resize/840×560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fb7%2F5bb5f6684dfab3427d9596a2de48%2Fpizza-07xx24-4.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" bad-src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN
