A Portland restaurateur and a Maine chef have been named finalists for the 2026 James Beard Awards, which were announced Tuesday, representing the state among this year’s honorees.
Dana Street, founder of Scales, Fore Street, Street & Co. and Standard Baking Co., all located in Portland, is among the five finalists from around the country for Outstanding Restaurateur.
Thomas Takashi Cooke of Izakaya Minato in Portland is one of the five finalists for the Best Chef: Northeast Award. Cooke is competing against four other chefs from the New England region.
The James Beard Awards, known as the Oscars of the restaurant industry, honor achievements in the culinary arts, hospitality, media and the broader food system.
The following Maine establishments and chefs were named semifinalists in January but did not make it to the final round: Night Moves Bread, Jeremy Broucek of Bread & Friends, Chris Gould of Central Provisions, Sara Jenkins of Nina June and Jake Stevens of Leeward.
The list of semifinalists, released in January, included seven from Maine. Elsewhere in New England, there were two nominees from Rhode Island, one from Vermont, three from Connecticut, and two from New Hampshire. But Massachusetts has no finalists this year.
The winners will be celebrated during the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
The awards were established in 1990 and first presented in 1991.
