The James Beard Foundation has announced its 2026 semifinalist nominees for the James Beard Awards — one of the most prestigious awards a restaurant or chef can earn. The non-profit celebrates restaurants and chefs around the country in many categories!

We were happy to learn that Shi Mei from South Boston’s Lenox Sophia has been nominated for Best Chef in the Northeast. Way to go!

This cozy, intimate hot spot offers a seasonal prix fixe menu with a vegetarian option, BYOB, and is located on A Street in South Boston.

The semifinalists will be whittled down to a short list of finalists, who will be announced on Tuesday, March 31, and the winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 15, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Fingers crossed! 

About Shi Mei

A native of the Boston for over 30 years, he graduated from Umass-Amherst in 2000 with B.S. in economics and Johnson & Wales University in 2009 with AA in culinary arts. He spent 6 years working at Whole Foods Market as a regional financial accountant. From 2011 to present, he worked all gamut of the culinary field. In 2011, he worked at Thomas Keller’s acclaimed 3 Michelin stars restaurant, The French Laundry, in Napa Valley which has consistently been rated as the best restaurant in the country. Following a successful stint at The French Laundry, he moved to San Antonio, TX to be the chef de cuisine at Jason Dady’s Bin 555. With an appetite for more knowledge, particularly in wine, he returned to California to work at Jackson Family Wines. Once he completed his vintner education, in the summer of 2015, he reunited with Jason Dady in San Antonio, TX to become his Director of Operations where he oversaw the culinary successes of 6 different restaurant concepts.

In the works for the past two and a half years, Lenox Sophia comes from chef Shi Mei, a longtime Boston resident who left accounting for culinary school over a decade ago and never looked back. His career has taken him from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon and the French Laundry in California to Jason Dady’s Bin 555 in Texas and back to Boston to work on Lenox Sophia, which he describes as a “casual fine dining” restaurant. While working on the plans, he put in time in various local kitchens, including Asta, Whaling in Oklahoma, and Mida.

Follow Lenox Sophia on Instagram for the latest!

Photo via Eliesa Johnson