5 Massachusetts Chefs Earn James Beard Award Nominations for Best Chef: Northeast

Five chefs from Massachusetts have been nominated for a James Beard Award in the Best Chef: Northeast category. The 2026 James Beard Award semifinalists were announced on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

The Massachusetts chefs in the running for Best Chef: Northeast are Sāsha Coleman of Comfort Kitchen in Boston, Amarilys Colón of La Padrona in Boston, Luke Fetbroth of Tonino in Jamaica Plain, Shi Mei of Lenox Sophia in Boston, and Peter Nguyen of Lê Madeline in Quincy.

MassLive highlighted the chefs. Below is a summary of their professional culinary accomplishments:

Sāsha Coleman celebrates her Boston community at Comfort Kitchen. The African eatery opened in Dorchester's Upham's Corner in January 2023 and has received recognition from several media outlets, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Boston magazine.

Amarilys Colón serves as executive chef at La Padrona, which earned a MICHELIN recommendation in late 2025. It opened in May 2024 under A Street Hospitality.

Luke Fetbroth, a Waltham native, serves as executive chef at Tonino in Jamaica Plain. His culinary career has taken him around the country, from Los Angeles to New York, and he returned to Boston in 2022.

Peter Nguyen co-founded Lê Madeline in 2024 in Quincy. He brings Vietnamese-inspired cuisine to Lê Madeline, following restaurant service at Riel in Houston and Little Donkey in Cambridge.

Shi Mei founded Lenox Sophia in 2022. After attending culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, Mei worked at several of Thomas Keller's Napa Valley restaurants before taking on a chef de cuisine role at Jason Dady's Bin 555 in San Antonio, Texas, where she eventually became director of operations.

In addition to the above honorees, Pao Thampitak of Gaaeng Supper Club in Boston was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for the Emerging Chef category. Monica Glass of Verveine Cafe & Bakery in Cambridge and Whitney Stancil of Cuvée at Chatham Inn in Chatham were recognized in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category.