Hunter Evans and Austin Sumrall, two names familiar to foodies across Mississippi, are semifinalists for the 2026 James Beard Award for the South’s best chef.
This year’s semifinalists for The Best Chef: South category were announced on Wednesday by the James Beard Foundation, which annually makes “icons out of the nation’s top restaurant and bar professionals,” the foundation’s website notes. Per a release from Visit Mississippi, the awards are considered the “crème de la crème of national culinary recognition.”
The South category covers Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Puerto Rico. Evans, of Jackson, and Sumrall, of Biloxi, are two of 20 semifinalists. Finalists will be announced on March 31, and winners will be honored at Lyric Opera of Chicago on June 15.
Evans has racked up numerous honors for his modern Southern-French cuisine that can be found at Elvie’s in the historic Belhaven neighborhood of Jackson. Personally, he’s vying for the James Beard Award for the fourth time, previously making it to the semifinalist round in 2023 and 2025 and the final round in 2024. Elvie’s itself has been named one of America’s top restaurants by the New York Times and was selected for the Bib Gourmand distinction in the 2025 Michelin Guide American South.
Evans, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, recently took over operations at the historic Mayflower Café in downtown Jackson, as well.
Sumrall, like Evans, has garnered plenty of honors for his White Pillars restaurant in Biloxi. He was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award in 2020 and named “King of American Seafood” by winning the Great American Seafood Cookoff in New Orleans in 2021. White Pillars itself was recently put on Michelin’s list of recommended restaurants in the American South.
“Mississippi’s food culture is rooted in rich traditions, bold creativity, and the unmistakable hospitality of our people,” Visit Mississippi director Rochelle Hicks said. “We are proud to see chefs like Hunter Evans and Austin Sumrall recognized on the national stage for elevating local ingredients and telling Mississippi’s story through their craft.”
A full list of semifinalists for the 2026 James Beard Awards can be found here. The awards are named in honor of James Beard, who was a legendary American chef, cookbook author, and teacher, often called the “Dean of American Cookery.”