Slipping into your consciousness with some exciting news: The James Beard Association has just released its semifinalists for the 2026 Chef and Restaurant Awards. And yes, Milwaukee is proudly represented!
Here are the local pros nominated and their respective category:
Emerging Chef
Vanessa Rose, owner of Mother’s (2900 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.). Rose grew Mother’s out of a pop-up and opened her brick-and-mortar, in Bay View, in June 2025.
Best New Restaurant
1033 Omakase (1033 S. First St.): Opened in late 2024, this is the Milwaukee’s first restaurant that serves exclusively an omakase experience – a chef-curated surprise multi-course meal featuring sushi and other elements of Japanese cuisine.
Best Chef: Midwest
Zak Baker, Ca’Lucchenzo: Baker, whose cooking career has ranged from Ristorante Bartolotta 1993 to Pizza Man, operates this cozy East Tosa restaurant (6030 W. North Ave.) with his wife/business partner Sarah.
Lisa Kirkpatrick and Paul Zerkel, Goodkind: The longtime partners in business and life are the heart and soul of the kitchen of the Bay View restaurant (2457 S. Wentworth Ave.) they co-own with cocktail maven Katie Rose.
Outstanding Bar
The Mothership (2301 S. Logan Ave.): Open since 2019, the popular Bay View craft cocktail bar reopened in November after a three-month closure due to flood damage.
Other Wisconsin noms:
Outstanding Bakery: Cultured in Sister Bay
Best New Bar: Public Parking in Madison
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program: Sway Brewing + Blending, Baileys Harbor
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service: Hastings Cameron of the Imaginary Factory in Madison
Best Chef: Midwest: Kasey Lee Cooke of Mint Mark in Madison; Adam Marty of Ellinor in Appleton
The finalists will be announced on March 31, and the winners named at the awards ceremony on June 15 at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.
