James Beard Tasting Event in Houston Features Top Chefs

Houston First, the city’s destination marketing organization that played a role in bringing Michelin here, is doubling down on the buzz by co-hosting the James Beard Foundation’s only major Taste America tasting event in Texas.

The James Beard Organization, which annually hosts an awards ceremony often called the “Oscars of the culinary world” that honors American chefs and restaurants, has selected Emmanuel Chavez of Tatemó as the tasting’s host chef. It’s scheduled for Sept. 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel downtown. Tickets, which range from $175 to $250, go on sale today.

The lineup of chefs for the event, which helps raise money for the Beard Foundation, will also include names many Houstonians will know:

The only other major Taste America tastings in the South will be in Nashville and New Orleans. Other cities include New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Smaller dinners will be held in 10 other cities, including one held in San Antonio earlier this year.

But Houston’s rise as a dining destination, coupled with recent news from Michelin, is also another example of the city’s promotional efforts.

Houston First is paying Michelin $90,000 a year for three years to send its anonymous evaluators to the country’s fourth-largest city.

It’s unclear which restaurants, if any, will receive a coveted Michelin star, but many chefs echoed Houston First’s belief that more national attention should be paid to the city’s restaurants.

Chavez, part of the 2024-25 Beard’s TasteTwenty class of “ones to watch,” was the only finalist for the Beard Awards in Houston this summer. He has said he is aiming for a Michelin star.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the James Beard Foundation, it’s that if something’s meant to happen, it’s meant to happen,” Chavez said.