The prestigious James Beard Foundation routinely determines the top ten chefs, by region, in the United States. This year, the winners of the "Best Chef" awards went to many new chefs, as well as some repeat winners.

The best chef in the Pacific region is Craig Stoll of Delfina's, a nationally acclaimed Italian restaurant in San Francisco. Next is chef Eric Ziebold, formerly of The French Laundry, now executive chef at CityZen in Washington D.C. Adam Siegel, of Milwaukee's Bartolotta's, which serves fine Northern Italian cuisine, is the winner from the Midwest region. The winner from the Great Lakes region was Carrie Nahabedian of Naha in Chicago. This is the third time she has won. Her take on fusion style cuisine combines Mediterranean and California flavors. In the Northwest region, at Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, Washington, chef Holly Smith won with her famous Northern Italian cuisine.

David Chang is a perennial winner and is from New York City. His Momofuku restaurants serve American style cuisine with a menu that changes daily. He uses only fresh, in-season ingredients. The northeast is represented by Patrick Connolly of Radius, in Boston, but he is now with Bobo's in New York. The south is represented by Robert Stehling, of the Hominy Grill, in Charleston, South Carolina. His restaurant serves low country style cuisine. Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson represents the Southwest at Frasca, in Boulder, Colorado, which serves Italian food of the Friuli-Venezia Guilia region of Italy. Michelle Bourstein of Michy's is the top chef in Miami and she serves Latin-inspired cuisine.