San Antonio chefs are vying for coveted James Beard Awards tonight. Here’s how you can watch.

A trio of San Antonio food pros are in Chicago for the 2023 James Beard Awards ceremony, which takes place this evening. All three are contenders for a prize akin to a culinary world Grammy.

While Alamo City foodies may not be able to get dolled up for the big gala, they can certainly watch from home: the James Beard Foundation will livestream the ceremony from Chicago via Eater.com.

Of particular interest is the Best Chef: Texas category, where John Russ,  chef-owner of San Antonio classic American restaurant Clementine; Ernest Servantes, a partner in Sequin barbecue spot Burnt Bean Co.; and David Kirkland, the other partner in Burnt Bean, are among the semifinalists in the category selected in July.

Other San Antonio-area chefs have made it to the semifinals round of the Beard Awards over the years — Jason Dady, Biga’s Bruce Auden and Cured’s Steve McHugh, to name a few — but, so far, none has brought home the coveted title. With a win tonight, Russ, Servantes or Kirkland would be the first.

The James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards livestream kicks off at 5:30 p.m.

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This article appears in May 31 – Jun 13, 2023.