The 2024 Jean Banchet Award winners
One of the Windy City’s most prestigious food awards has revealed its 2025 finalists across 13 categories, including new category Best Pizza.
Named after the award-winning chef who helped put Chicago on the culinary map with suburban French eatery Le Francais, the Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence recognize innovative local talent.
“The Banchets are the one night when the Chicago hospitality industry stops and pauses and honors the hard work and dedication they put into their craft,” says Michael Muser, co-owner of the two-Michelin-starred Ever Restaurant and organizer of the awards. “These people serve us all year long; the least we can do is give them one night.”
Michael Muser, co-owner of the two-Michelin-starred Ever Restaurant and organizer of the awards
Selected through a combination of anonymous panel selections and live audience polls, awardees will be announced at a Jan. 26, 2025, ceremony held at Venue SIX10, with tickets available for purchase beginning Nov. 19. At the event, James Beard Award-winning chef Roland Liccioni will receive the event’s highest honor for his 40-year-long career in the local dining scene, including his work as chef-partner of Le Francais with Jean Banchet and as chef de cuisine of Les Nomades.
“He’s the standard-bearer for his generation and the definition of a consistent chef,” says Muser. “He never did it to be famous and retired from Les Nomades with a whisper. We’re now throwing him the celebration he deserves.”
Nominees of the 2025 Banchet Awards include:
New Village Gastro Pub & Karaoke
Madalyn Durrant, Bar Parisette
Mike Satinover, Akahoshi Ramen
Jelena Prodan, S.K.Y., Valhalla, Apolonia
Kat Hawkins, Miru, Tre Dita, St. Regis Bar
Antonio Incandela, Mariscos San Pedro
Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader and Ben Lustbader, Loaf Lounge
Stephen Gillanders, S.K.Y., Valhalla, Apolonia
See also: The Hottest New Restaurants In Chicago
Photography by: Photos by Caitlin Lisa, courtesy of the Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence
