The Great Beard Bake-Off

On Friday, August 7th, the James Beard Foundation closed submissions in its search to find the next home of the “Oscars of Food.” The move, if it happens, wouldn’t be until 2029, when Chicago’s contract runs out. The process is two-step: The first was the “Request For Information” stage, during which any city could make the case as to why it should be a contender. On August 17th, the Foundation will inform the lucky few that get to move on to the next, more exclusive “Request For Proposal” stage. Of course, it’s possible Chicago wins out and gets to keep the awards through 2033. We won’t know until early 2027, when the Foundation will make an official announcement. When I reached out about the response from cities around the country, a spokesperson declined to share any information in order “to protect the integrity and fairness of the evaluation.”

Since 2015, the Beards have been held every May or June (except in 2020 and 2021) at the Lyric Opera in Chicago, which snatched the ceremony away from New York, its longtime home. The coup was orchestrated by Chicago’s former mayor, Rahm Emanuel; New York, the story goes, had simply become too comfortable. The five boroughs never saw it coming.

In July, the Foundation put out a press release saying, “The Foundation is thrilled to share this opportunity with the nation’s culinary destinations for future years. All interested U.S. destinations are welcome to participate, including Chicago, a deeply valued and long-standing partner.” It has the tone of someone opening a relationship with another person (Chicago) who isn’t interested but feels they have no choice.