San Francisco’s restaurant scene is roaring back.
In the past three months, the city’s chefs and restaurants have racked up some impressive accolades, including a James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef (opens in new tab) for Michael Tusk of Quince and a third Michelin star for Californios. Now, a cohort of nearly two dozen restaurant and bar pros are being recognized not for what they make but for the influence they’ve made on the industry.
The 2026 Rising Stars Awards, presented by the magazine StarChefs, honor 23 chefs, bakers, bartenders, distillers, and restaurateurs from San Francisco and Oakland as emerging talents. The magazine gives its awards all over the country, typically focusing on a different city or region every quarter. This is the first time the magazine has returned to the Bay Area since 2022, when the cohort included Geoff Davis of Burdell and Alan Hsu of Sun Moon Studio.
StarChefs’ CEO, Will Blunt, says the awards aren’t merely about the best food or a perfect cocktail; they’re about leadership. “One of the things is speculating on the impact they’re going to have on the hospitality community going forward,” Blunt said.
The 2026 class includes a few names Bay Area restaurant lovers might recognize, such as Harrison Cheney of Sons & Daughters, who won the Michelin Guide California Young Chef Award in 2023. Honoree Evan Williams, who leads the bar programs at Dalida and Maria Isabel, won the Exceptional Cocktails Award at the Michelin Guide California ceremony in June. “It’s been such a crazy year,” Williams said, expressing gratitude for his team, mentors, and “everyone who has mentored me and given me the space to grow and shine, particularly [owners] Laura and Sayat [Ozyilmaz] for trusting their bar programs with me.”
Other recipients have mostly been behind the scenes, such as Ashwin Oon of State Bird Provisions and Genoa Pieron of Lazy Bear. Pieron, a Johnson & Wales University graduate, joined the team at the two-star restaurant about five years ago and was promoted to chef de cuisine in March 2025. “I’m grateful that StarChefs is recognizing me and my work toward running a ‘new-school’ kitchen, where people actually enjoy coming into work and want to grow and learn from the team around them,” she said. “It is truly an honor to be a part of this class.”
The process for earning a Rising Star Award is different from other restaurant industry accolades. Michelin stars are awarded by anonymous inspectors, while the James Beard Awards are overseen by a committee of food and media experts, then voted on by a panel of judges. StarChefs, however, sends its staff to each city, spending almost a month on the ground meeting with about 100 chefs, pastry chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, restaurateurs, and artisans. “We do exhaustive research, and we visit everyone in person,” Blunt said.
The 2026 San Francisco cohort is the 98th class of Rising Stars and the eighth from the Bay Area. Previous recipients (opens in new tab) include Eleven Madison Park’s Daniel Humm for his work at Campton Place (2005), B. Patisserie founder Belinda Leong for her work at Gary Danko (2007), and Flour + Water co-chef Ryan Pollnow for his work at Aaxte (2016).
During San Francisco Rising Stars Restaurant Week (Sept. 30 to Oct. 14), participating recipients will serve dishes that helped them earn the accolades, and complimentary copies of StarChefs magazine will be available while supplies last. During the two-week event, Dingles Public House will donate $3 from every fisherman’s pie sold to the youth-mentorship program Sprouts Chef Training.