WV restaurant, chef honored at glitzy James Beard Awards in Chicago
- Steven Keith
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Alma Bea chef and Figaretti's restaurant represent state
I had the immense pleasure of spending the weekend attending parties, lectures and events in Chicago this weekend before walking the red carpet Monday night to attend the 2026 James Beard Awards gala and after-party, where two West Virginia restaurants were honored on the nation’s biggest culinary stage.
Figaretti’s Italian Restaurant in Wheeling was honored as one of five America’s Classics winners across the country, an award that celebrates independently owned restaurants with timeless appeal reflecting the local character and cultural traditions of their communities.
And Chef Mary Ellen Diaz from Alma Bea in Shepherdstown competed as one of five finalists for the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef-Southeast, an honor Charleston Chef Paul Smith, who was also at the gala in Chicago, won two years ago.
Although Diaz didn’t pick up the win, it’s incredibly rare for a first-time nominee to make it all the way to the finalist stage, so it was an incredible honor to see her recognized as one of the top chefs in a six-state region that includes some massive restaurant markets.
And while receiving such lavish praise and attention makes her a little uncomfortable, she represented West Virginia so well. I especially loved that when the classic red carpet question came up (What are you wearing?) she had a response that made me even more proud to know her.
“I am thrilled to be wearing a piece, NeuroBloom, by emerging West Virginia fashion designer, Zunaira Malik,” Diaz said. “The fabrics that form NeuroBloom were inspired by the drawings of autistic children around Morgantown, West Virginia.”
NeuroBloom combines pieces from Zunaira's Hidden Brilliance Collection, showcased at New York Fashion Week.
“It symbolizes the beauty of minds blooming in their own unique way – a message I truly love,” she added. “The Appalachian food that we honor at Alma Bea is also a happy blend of the many food traditions of the families, from various homelands, who came to the Appalachian mountains to create lives for their families.”
While she may not have come home with a Beard award, Diaz was just recognized by Root to Table, a regional nonprofit dedicated to cultivating and supporting a thriving culinary and agricultural community in the Virginias – West, plus that other one.
During the group’s inaugural Field & Flame Gathering in Winchester, Va., last month, Diaz received the Culinary Torch Bearer Award recognizing leaders who are strengthening local food systems, community connection and culinary excellence.
The only West Virginia winner of the night, Diaz also received a one-year Root to Table Seed Partnership valued at $1,500 to help support continued community engagement and collaboration.
An American Classic … in Wheeling
Now, back to Figaretti’s!
As one of five America’s Classics winners this year, that Wheeling institution now joins more than 100 restaurants across the country that the James Beard Awards have honored in that category since its inception in 1998.
In announcing the award, the James Beard Foundation said: “The legend of Figaretti’s started with a sauce. In West Virginia’s northern panhandle, Sicilian immigrant Anna Figaretti started making homemade spaghetti sauce for homesick Italian neighbors who had immigrated to work in local coal mines. The demand for Anna’s sauce grew so quickly that she recruited her five sons to start delivering it, which quickly helped them establish roots in their new community.”
The popularity of that time-honored recipe, they went on to say, prompted the family to open Figaretti’s in 1948.
“Nearly 80 years and three generations later, Figaretti’s remains an iconic spot with a warm and cozy dining room that welcomes guests like a hug,” the Foundation continued. “The scene is straight out of a storybook, but the heritage-driven food is fantastic in its own right. Guests are consistently wowed by traditional pastas, fresh-cut Prime steaks and flown-in-fresh seafood.”
I also got to spend time with the Figarettis during the weekend, and they were so proud to be representing West Virginia before a national audience.
“This means so much to me and my family,” Dino Figaretti told me. “I can’t tell you what an incredible honor this is for us.”
Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, X, Instagram and Pinterest as “WV Food Guy.” He can be reached at wvfoodguy@aol.com.