PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — This year, one bar and two restaurants in Portland made it as finalists for the2026 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award.
For nearly 40 years, the James Beard Awards have been likened to the Oscars of the food world, as the foundation helped set the standard for excellence in the culinary world, building on the legacy of James Beard, a Portland native whose influence helped shape American cooking.
James Beard hosted the first food program on television in 1946 and supported a generation of chefs and cookbook authors who changed how Americans eat…