Three Kansas chefs and a Kansas cocktail bar are among semifinalists in the prestigious 2026 James Beard Award competition honoring culinary excellence.
That nationwide competition, representing the “pinnacle of culinary recognition in the U.S.,” has been held since 1990 by the James Beard Foundation and is presented by Capital One, its website said.
The Restaurant and Chef Awards finalists will be announced on March 2, with winners being celebrated June 16 at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Here are the Kansas semifinalists
Information posted recently on the competition’s website revealed that semifinalists include the following:
- In the “Best Chef: Midwest” category, Swetha Newcomb, of Of Course in Overland Park, and brothers Jason Rickard and Jordan Rickard, of FioRito Ristorante in Wichita. Competition in that category is open to chefs in Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
- In the nationwide “Outstanding Bar” category, Drastic Measures in Shawnee.
Drastic Measures becomes semifinalist for third time
This is the third year that Drastic Measures — a small, rustic, cocktail-only bar in downtown Shawnee that doesn’t serve beer or wine — has been a semifinalist for the Outstanding Bar award…