The James Beard Foundation Awards may be the most delicious ceremony of the year. The awards honor professionals working in the food industry across the country. The honors don’t stop in the kitchen: innovative chefs and restaurant designers are honored alongside cookbook authors and food journalists.

At this year’s ceremony, Midwestern chefs, architects and authors made an impact. Meet some of the most influential tastemakers in the region:

 

Book Awards: American Cooking

The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes
Amy Thielen

Broadcast and New Media Awards: Video Webcast, on Location

The Perennial Plate: Europe and South Asia
Hosts: Mirra Fine and Daniel Klein
Producers: Mirra Fine and Daniel Klein

 

Best Restaurant Design or Renovation: 75 Seats and Under

Design Firm: Lawton Stanley Architects
Designers: Maria Contreras, Christopher Lawton, and Micah Stanley
Project: Grace, Chicago

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

Dave Beran
Next
Chicago

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

Justin Aprahamian
Sanford
Milwaukee

Rising Star Chef of the Year

Jimmy Bannos Jr.
The Purple Pig
Chicago

America’s Classics

Sokolowski’s University Inn
Cleveland
Owners: Bernard Sokolowski, Mary Balbier, and Michael Sokolowski

 

Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America

Paul Kahan
Chef and Restaurateur
Chicago