Richmond's Beard Awards drought is finally over
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Chef Leah Branch at The Roosevelt. Image: Courtesy of Sarah Cramer Shields via The Roosevelt
The James Beard Awards just announced their 2026 semifinalists and a Richmond chef is finally in the running.
Why it matters: This is the first time since 2020 that any Richmond chef or restaurant garnered a nod from the prestigious James Beard Foundation.
State of play: The Beards are like the Oscars for the American hospitality industry, and even making the semis is a big deal. (As is being snubbed by them year after year.)
- And Richmond's losing streak is finally done.
Zoom in: Leah Branch at The Roosevelt is a semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.
- It's Branch's first Beard nomination and the third for the Southern-inspired Church Hill restaurant.
- Its former co-owner and chef, Lee Gregory, was named a Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic semi-finalist three times during his tenure.
What they're saying: "This was an incredible surprise and I'm still very much in shock," Branch tells Axios, adding, "I am a very small part of what happens at the Roosevelt."
- "The chefs on the line and the service professionals in the dining room bring so much passion, joy and new inspiration to work every day. We will try to make y'all proud!"
"We're thrilled," restaurant co-owners Kendra Feather and Mark Herndon tell Axios.
- "Since stepping into the executive chef role, Leah Branch has carried forward The Roosevelt's legacy as a Richmond institution," Herndon added, noting that Branch's cooking is "rooted in Southern tradition and shaped by history, place and purpose."
The intrigue: This is the first year Branch was eligible for the award. The Foundation requires regional best chef nominees to have worked in their region for at least three years, per its website.
- Branch took over as executive chef at The Roosevelt in February 2022, moving here from North Carolina for the role.
- In Beard regions, North Carolina is in the Southeast and Virginia is in the Mid-Atlantic, and its chefs and restaurants compete alongside those in D.C. and Philly, plus Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.
Zoom out: Elsewhere in Virginia, Field & Main in Marshall, about an hour outside D.C., is a semifinalist for outstanding wine and beverage program.
- And Tarik Sengu, executive chef at Smyrna, in Charlottesville, is also a semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.
Catch up quick: The Beard awards started in 1990 and Richmond was recognized by the foundation occasionally in the awards' first two decades (thrice, in fact — 1995, 1996 and 2008).
- Then the 2010s hit — the decade that forged and solidified Richmond's dining scene and put the city on the national culinary map.
- 2010 started an 11-year run for Richmond and the James Beard Awards, including 2018 and 2019 when the city's dining community garnered a record four semifinalists.
- Two locals got nominated again in 2020.
- And then zilch for five long, notable years (though the awards were canceled in 2021). Until now.
The bottom line: We're back, baby.
What's next: Finalists will be announced on March 31 and winners will be celebrated at a Chicago ceremony on June 15.
This story has been updated with additional details throughout.