Chicago’s culinary community gathered Sunday evening for the 2025 Banchet Awards, a prestigious event honoring the city’s finest chefs, restaurants, and hospitality leaders. The ceremony, held at Venue SIX10 in downtown Chicago, brought together hundreds of industry professionals to celebrate excellence in the local dining scene.
While the event was filled with light-hearted moments, including jokes about The Bear and the rise of TikTok food influencers, there were also poignant moments. During the presentation of the Restaurant of the Year award, Mary Kay Bonoma of the Illinois Restaurant Association took a moment to highlight the importance of immigrants in the industry.
“In these challenging and sometimes troubling times, let’s recognize all the immigrants who work in the restaurant industry. You are our backbone,” Bonoma said, receiving one of the night’s loudest rounds of applause.
This sentiment was echoed by Chris Jung, the winner of the Rising Chef award, who expressed gratitude for Chicago’s diversity. “I’m honored to be in a city that’s so diverse and welcoming to immigrants,” said Jung, of Maxwell’s Trading in the West Loop. “You saw it in a lot of the nominees today.”
The evening also honored standout restaurants. Le Bouchon in Bucktown was named Best Neighborhood Restaurant, while Uptown’s Cariño won Best New Restaurant. Chef of the Year was awarded to Otto Phan of Kyōten in Logan Square, and Spacca Napoli in Ravenswood was crowned Chicago’s Best Pizza, following a closely contested vote among attendees.
Other notable figures, including Breakfast Queen Ina Pinkney and The Tamale Guy (Claudio Velez), were present to congratulate the winners and celebrate the city’s vibrant culinary scene.
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