James Beard restaurant awards to be dished out tonight. See the New Orleans finalists.

The James Beard Foundation will present its annual culinary awards on June 15 at a ceremony in Chicago, with New Orleans featuring three finalists in key categories. Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski of Link Restaurant Group (which includes Pêche Seafood Grill, Herbsaint, Cochon, and others) are nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur, having won six James Beard awards collectively for their restaurants and cookbooks. Emerging Chef E.J. Lagasse, son of Emeril Lagasse, is nominated for transforming Emeril’s Restaurant into a world-class tasting menu experience, earning a two-star Michelin debut last year and a No. 20 ranking on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Ana Castro, co-owner of Acamaya with her sister Lydia, is nominated for Best Chef, South, after the Bywater restaurant secured a No. 30 spot on the same list and the sisters opened a second casual spot, Casamiro. Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA, a modern Senegalese tasting menu restaurant, is also a finalist for Best Chef, South. The restaurant won the James Beard Foundation’s Best New Restaurant award in 2024 and ranked No. 4 on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The nominees were selected from thousands of public submissions last fall. Media awards were announced on June 13, with local interest in the Lifestyle Visual Media award for *Duck Camp Dinners, The Texas Tour*, hosted by New Orleans native Jean-Paul Bourgeois. Bourgeois is set to open a new restaurant in Uptown New Orleans, while Nina Compton’s cookbook *Kwéyòl / Creole* was also nominated in a different category.