The 2026 James Beard Award Nominee finalists were just announced, so Adrienne and Joe dive headfirst into the biggest surprises, omissions, and things they’d like to see happen this year. In this episode, we discuss:

The biggest names to make each of the lists

Why weren’t there any Caribbean restaurants represented?

An explanation on how the awards process works

What they’d like to see changed, and why the regional layout may need a makeover

Adrienne Cheatham is a member of the James Beard Awards subcommittee

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