The Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence were announced Sunday, crowning Chicago’s top restaurants and chefs in coveted categories and bringing over 400 industry insiders together at Venue SIX10.
The ceremony featured cameos from “The Tamale Guy,” Claudio Vele, and actress Sarah Ramos, who plays Jessica in “The Bear.” Ramos’ character is first seen in an acclaimed Season 2 episode in which Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie stages at the fictionalized version of Ever, the Michelin-starred restaurant in Fulton Market co-owned by Banchet host Michael Muser.
“I told her after the show, that it means more than you could imagine to the nominees — it makes their night special and really highlights what we’re trying to accomplish, which is really to pay honor to their craft,” Muser said Monday.
Muser said he writes all the scripts for the presenters with a small team of comedy writers. Including references to “The Bear” is just a given, he said.
“If we’re anything, we’re hospitable and we have a good sense of humor,” Muser said with a laugh. “It was an opportunity for us to kind of poke fun at ourselves and nod to our participation in ‘The Bear.’ I wanted the (awards) to be a show for the audience — for hospitality people to have a night off.”
The award categories have evolved over the years into something that represents the city’s diverse and vibrant culinary scene, Muser added, and this year’s Best New Restaurant, Cariño, showcases all that and more.
In just 12 months, the modernist Latin-inspired tasting menu and taco omakase restaurant in Uptown has snagged a Michelin star, a James Beard semifinalist nomination and a Jean Banchet award for Best New Restaurant. Norman Fenton, chef and co-owner of Cariño, said it’s all a bit surreal: “I could never have imagined this.”
“Our little space has become such a special place in Chicago,” Fenton said of his small storefront with 20 seats. “It was a team effort, and there’s huge gratification in (winning), validation — it helps us fuel the fire.”
Meanwhile, chef Roland Liccioni was honored with the Culinary Excellence of the Year Award. He is best known for Les Nomades and for leading Le Francais with Jean Banchet.
The winners are chosen by an anonymous panel of over 10 people who are food journalists, professionals in the food and beverage space, and “hardcore local foodies.” The panel spends the whole year eating around the city and deliberating in both virtual and in-person meetings to narrow down the list and select the winners.
The winners of the Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence
Rising Chef of the Year: Chris Jung of Maxwells Trading
Maxwells Trading, co-owned by Chris Jung and three-time James Beard-nominated chef and partner Erling Wu-Bower, “makes deeply delicious, Asian-influenced, intimately American food that challenges culinary and cultural identity,” Tribune food critic Louisa Chu wrote in a recent review. Jung said he was “super honored” to be named this year’s Rising Chef — an accolade made even more special because in 2015 Wu-Bower won the now-defunct category of Chef de Cuisine, essentially the same award as Rising Chef.
Best New Restaurant: Cariño
Chef and owner Norman Fenton offers diners both a Mexican-inspired prix fixe option and a late-night taco omakase. Cariño is also a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in this year’s James Beard Awards.
Chef of the Year: Otto Phan of Kyoten
Kyoten, known for serving mesmerizing seafood, is an omakase spot serving luxurious sushi in Logan Square, for nearly $440 to $490 per person. Former Tribune critic Nick Kindelsperger gave the restaurant 4 stars in September 2023.
Restaurant of the Year: Avec
Avec was first reviewed by the Tribune after it opened in 2003, with former Tribune critic Phil Vettel noting the “excellent food and less-than-ideal creature comforts.” He reviewed it again in 2019 for a glowing critique. The Mediterranean restaurant is going strong, three decades in. “Graciously, we wouldn’t have been on that stage last night accepting this incredible award without the names we recited aloud,” Donnie Madia, partner of One Off Hospitality and Avec, told the Tribune. “Over the past 21 years, we’ve been fortunate to retain many loyal team members who are truly the heartbeat of what makes Avec such a special restaurant.”
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Le Bouchon
Le Bouchon is a French bistro in Bucktown with classic cuisine and quaint decor reminiscent of an evening in Paris. The longtime restaurant first opened in 1993.
Best Hospitality: Dear Margaret
Dear Margaret in Lakeview pays homage to family farm meals, seasonal produce and French Canadian fare. Fittingly, the restaurant’s entire staff was on hand at the ceremony to accept their hospitality award.
Best Pizza: Spacca Napoli
This year’s awards included a deliciously divisive category of pizza, the award for which went to Spacca Napoli, where Neapolitan-style thin-crust is made by masters of the craft. The pizzeria has been around for 20 years.
Bar of the Year: Bisous
The Fulton Market bar is also a semifinalist for a new James Beard Award category for Best New Bar.
Heritage Restaurant of the Year: Stumara
The restaurant in suburban Wheeling offers Georgian dishes and wine with an American twist.
Best Design: Tre Dita
Evan Funke’s Italian eatery serves meticulously handcrafted centuries-old pasta shapes. The decor — art deco archways in the St. Regis Hotel on the riverfront — is as alluring as the menu.
Pastry Chef of the Year: TC Lumbar of Elske
Some items on Elske’s dessert rotating menu include raspberry-tomato sorbet with lemon verbena, rice pudding with preserved cherry and cultured cream, and meringue with pear and parsnip-coconut cream. Anna and David Posey’s West Loop restaurant was also up for Restaurant of the Year.
Sommelier of the Year: Jelena Prodan of S.K.Y./Valhalla/Apolonia
Jelena Prodan, sommelier and beverage director for SMG Restaurants, was born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia. She developed a passion for diverse wine and cuisine during her early travels through Europe. At each restaurant, Prodan offers broad and curated selections of over 20 by-the-glass wines per list, as well as robust bottle lists, sakes, vermouths, boutique spirits and creative cocktails.
Best Counter Service: Ragadan
The Middle Eastern restaurant in Uptown serves both hummus and falafel and double cheeseburgers and chocolate milkshakes in a crossover between Jordanian food and Oklahoma diners.
