The James Beard Awards on Tuesday announced its 2026 winners — and the results didn’t land in North Texas’ favor.
The nominees in the region came from two Italian restaurants: Lucia in Dallas and Osteria il Muro in Denton.
Lucia is a chef-owned Italian restaurant in Oak Cliff’s Bishop Arts District in Dallas. The restaurant's chef Maggie Huff was nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. Since opening its doors in 2010, Lucia has been nominated for multiple James Beard Awards.
Scott Girling, owner and chef at Denton's Osteria il Muro, was nominated for Best Chef Texas.
Here's who won in those categories:
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker nominees:
- Neale Asato, Asato Family Shop, Honolulu
- Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit, Washington, D.C. (winner)
- Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Nicosi, San Antonio
- Maggie Huff, Lucia, Dallas
- Justine MacNeil, Fiore, Philadelphia
Best Chef Texas nominees:
- Ope Amosu, ChòpnBlọk, Houston
- Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, JŪN, Houston (winner)
- Scott Girling, Osteria Il Muro, Denton
- Gabe Padilla and Melissa Padilla, Café Piro, Socorro
- Finn Walter, The Nicolett, Lubbock
The only Texas winners were in Houston: Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu of JŪN and Adrian Torres of Maximo.
Ava Thompson is KERA's audience producer. Got a tip? Email Ava at athompson@kera.org.
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