All the chefs and restaurants in the Carolinas up for a 2026 James Beard Award
Chefs and restaurants across the Carolinas have been honored as 2026 James Beard Award Semifinalists, with strong showings in the Asheville area and Charleston, along with nods for chefs in Charlotte, Cary and Raleigh.
Restaurants and chefs who are finalists will be announced Tuesday, March 31. Those who take the top prize will be honored at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 15 at Lyric Opera in Chicago.
In Charlotte, chef Robin Anthony of Omakase Experience by Prime Fish is among the nine semifinalists for Best Chef: Southeast, which had 20 chefs honored in all. The high-end omakase restaurant offers a 15-course tasting menu featuring seasonal sushi, appetizers and more with fish flown in fresh from Tokyo daily.
Other Carolina semifinalists for Best Chef: Southeast in NC include:
- Matt Dawes of The Bull and Beggar in Asheville, a European-inspired small plates restaurant
- Steven Devereaux Greene of Herons at The Umstead in Cary. The fine dining restaurant is Michelin recommended restaurant featuring seasonal ingredients, and a five-course tasting menu is available.
- Cheetie Kumar of Ajja in Raleigh, a Mediterranean restaurant that was nominated for the James Beard Award Best New Restaurant in 2023.
- Taylor Montgomery of Montgomery Sky Farm in Leicester, a working farm that offers dining only by appointment through chef’s tables and other culinary experiences.
Carolina semifinalists for Best Chef: Southeast in SC include:
- Bintou N’Daw of Bintü Atelier in Charleston, which serves West African cuisine
- Colin Marcelli of Renzo in Charleston, a pizza and natural wines restaurant
- Heidi Vukov of Hook & Barrel in Myrtle Beach, a seafood-focused spot with small plates
Other James Beard semifinalists
Meherwan Irani and Molly Irani of Asheville-based Chai Pani Restaurant Group were named semifinalists for Outstanding Restaurateur. The Chai Pani Restaurant Group operates Chai Pani and Botiwalla, which also has a location in Charlotte at Optimist Hall.
The group is no stranger to accolades — Chai Pani’s Asheville location was the 2022 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Restaurant, Irani has been a semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast five times, and chef Sahar Siddiqi was a semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast in 2023. Its Decatur, Georgia, location is also Michelin recommended.
Dean Neff of Seabird in Wilmington is among the semifinalists for Outstanding Chef. He also owns Zora’s Market & Kitchen, a fish market.
“This is a sign to keep pushing,” he said in a statement sent to CharlotteFive in which he thanked his team and the Wilmington community.
“We’ve had the ability to meet and work with people we love and trust through our restaurant and fish market, and these places give us a platform to have conversations about the people doing the hard work and our greater seafood system. We’re able to tell their stories, and all that goes into our local, sustainable seafood system and that helps diners to make better decisions about how they source seafood and furthers our progress with sustainability in aquaculture.”
In Charleston, Chubby Fish was named a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant, and Hector Garate of Palmira Barbecue is a semifinalist for Emerging Chef. Weltons Tiny Bakeshop is a semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery.
Best New Restaurant semifinalists from the Carolinas were French restaurant Merci in Charleston and Peregrine in Raleigh, a contemporary American eatery with global influences.
“As a Bengali chef, cooking for 20 years and finally sharing what American food means to me, l’m overwhelmed by the support and how important it feels to be recognized for this,” Saif Rahman said in a statement.
“My first thought was of my father, who believed in me as a chef, and would have kissed me right now. We have dreamed of this, my team and I; seeing their excitement means the world to me.”
Honors in beverages — an increased area of focus for the James Beard Awards — were also given to a few South Carolina restaurants.
Stems and Skins in Charleston was recognized as a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, while Graft Wine Shop & Wine Bar in Charleston got a nod for Outstanding Bar.
Andrea Ciavardini-Royko of Jianna in Greenville, SC, was named a semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service.
This story was originally published January 21, 2026 at 1:58 PM.
