Mississippi
Jackson chef, two other Mississippi restaurants named James Beard Awards semifinalists
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A Jackson chef joins two Biloxi chefs and an Ocean Springs restaurant as semi-finalists in the prestigious 2025 James Beard Awards.
For 35 years, restaurateurs throughout the nation have sought out recognition from the James Beard Foundation, a national nonprofit that gets its namesake from the renowned chef, cookbook author and television personality, James Beard. The foundation annually recognizes exceptional culinary talent with semifinalist and finalist rounds of awards.
This year, Mississippi appeared three times on semifinalist lists, which the foundation released Wednesday morning. The finalists for each category will be announced in early April.
Hunter Evans of Elvie’s, Jackson
Hunter Evans, the chef behind the New Orleans-style café Elvie’s in Belhaven, is a semifinalist for the 2025 James Beard “Best Chef: South” award.
Evans is one of 20 semifinalists from the category that includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico.
This year is not Evans’ first recognition by the James Beard Foundation. Last year, Evans was one of five finalists for “Best Chef: South,” and in 2023, he was a semifinalist.
In a past interview with the Clarion Ledger after his being named a finalist in 2024, Evans, a Jackson native who studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York City before moving back home, called Elvie’s a “farmer-and-season-driven restaurant that explores Mississippi-French cuisine.”
Elvie’s is an homage to Evans’ grandmother, May Elvieretta Good, who provided the chef’s first memories of the complex nature of food. Evans grew up visiting his grandmother in New Orleans and fondly remembers eating her classic Southern cooking, which inspires Elvie’s menu today.
In 2020, weeks after Elvie’s had opened, the restaurant fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic and, like so many other restaurants around the world, shut its doors. The closure was temporary, however, and Evans and his crew managed to grow the restaurant through pop-ups and takeout meals.
Five years later, Elvie’s is still going strong. The menu, split between day and night, includes classic Southern breakfast dishes such as home fries and cheese grits, as well as some more upscale dishes, including oysters and caviar service. The menu includes a wide range of wine and specialty cocktails.
Since 2020, Evans has continued to deepen his roots in Jackson by buying, renovating and reopening the Mayflower, a historic restaurant in Downtown Jackson, not too far away from Elvie’s. Evans, along with co-owners Brandi Carter and Cody McCain also recently opened Levure Bottle Shop, a specialty wine store in the former Bridal Path location in Banner Hall.
Austin Sumrall and Tresse Sumrall of White Pillars, Biloxi
Tresse and Austin Sumrall, the husband-and-wife duo behind White Pillars in Biloxi, are together a semifinalist for the 2025 James Beard “Best Chef: South” award.
White Pillars, which opened in 2017, is a nationally recognized farm-to-table restaurant exploring the different tastes of the Mississippi Gulf Coast with a few unexpected twists. The restaurant serves small plates and sample menus with a variety of dishes from caviar toast to shrimp pad thai.
Austin, a McComb native, studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York before returning to Alabama to put down roots with Tresse, a Gulport native. After welcoming their son, Ollie, in 2015, the Sumrall family moved back to Mississippi with hopes of opening a restaurant.
The Sumrall family is no stranger to the James Beard awards. In 2020, Austin was a semifinalist in the “Best Chef: South” category, the same honor he holds now in 2025.
Vestige, Ocean Springs
Vestige, a restaurant specializing in market-driven tasting menus, is a semifinalist for the 2025 James Beard “Outstanding Hospitality” award.
The Ocean Springs restaurant caters to diners seeking a unique experience by providing an ever-changing “chef’s choice” menu. Each seating includes a multi-course meal designed by chefs and husband-and-wife duo Alex Perry and Kumi Omori.
Perry and Omori, much like the other Mississippi chefs on this year’s semifinalist list, are well acquainted with the James Beard Foundation. In 2024, Vestige was named a finalist for the “Outstanding Restaurant” award.
This year, Vestige is one of 20 restaurants that made semifinalist for the “Outstanding Hospitality” award which, according to the James Beard Foundation, recognizes a “restaurant, bar, or other food and drinking establishment that fosters a sense of hospitality among its customers and staff that serves as a beacon for the community and demonstrates consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, hospitality and operations.”
Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@jackson.gannett.com
Mississippi
Thompson defeats Turnage to highlight U.S. House primaries in Mississippi – SuperTalk Mississippi
Political newcomer and Capitol Hill attorney Evan Turnage proved no match for longtime U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who defeated him and one other challenger to earn the Democratic nomination for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday.
Some politicos thought Turnage – who went to Yale and later worked for some of Thompson’s Democratic colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) – wouldn’t necessarily win but could make waves as one of the more viable candidates to challenge Thompson in recent years. However, that wasn’t the case as Thompson garnered approximately 85% of the vote when the race was called.
Thompson, 78, is seeking an 18th term. The civil rights leader who chaired the Jan. 6 Committee was first elected in 1993 and serves as a ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. He will face either Ron Eller or Kevin Wilson on the Republican side, a race yet to be called as of late Tuesday night, and independent Bennie Foster in November’s general.
All of Mississippi’s U.S. House seats are up for grabs this year.
In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Trent Kelly ran unopposed, while civil rights attorney and University of Mississippi School of Law professor Cliff Johnson beat former state lawmaker Kelvin Buck in the Democratic primary. Libertarian challenger Johnny Baucom awaits Kelly and Johnson in the general.
In the 3rd Congressional District, both Republican Rep. Michael Guest and Democrat Michael Chiaradio ran unopposed. They will meet Libertarian Erik Kiehle in the general.
In the 4th Congressional District, Republican Rep. Mike Ezell had over 80% of the vote when his race was called against former Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officer and political staffer Sawyer Walters. State Rep. Jeffrey Hulum easily won the Democratic nomination over Paul Blackman and D. Ryan Grover. Ezell and Hulum will face independent Carl Boyanton in the general.
Arguably the most watched races of the night occurred in the state’s lone U.S. Senate seat in this year’s cycle. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith had no problem with Ocean Springs doctor Sarah Adlakha, seeing her name bolded around 30 minutes after the polls closed. It wasn’t long after that when Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom was announced the winner of the Democratic primary over Priscilla Till and Albert Littell. Independent Ty Pinkins will meet Hyde-Smith and Colom in the general on Nov. 3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mississippi
Mississippi First Congressional District Primary 2026: Live Election Results, Buck vs. Johnson
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Sunday, March 15, 2026
1. (tie) “The Irish Goodbye,” Beth Ann Fennelly, Norton; and “Vigil,” George Saunders, Random House
2. “Theo of Golden,” Allen Levi, Atria Books
3. “The Widow,” John Grisham, Doubleday
4. “The Correspondent,” Virginia Evans, Random House
5. “When It’s Darkness on the Delta,” W. Ralph Eubanks, Beacon Press
6. “Eradication,” Jonathan Miles, Doubleday
7. “Neptune’s Fortune,” Julian Sancton, Random House
8. “The Dean,” Sparky Reardon, The Nautilus Publishing Company
9. “Kin,” Tayari Jones, Random House
10. “Brawler,” Lauren Groff, Riverhead
Children and young adults
1. “The Bear and the Hair and the Fair,” Em Lynas, Little Brown
2. “The Hybrid Prince,” Tui T. Sutherland, Scholastic Press
3. “One Mississippi,” Steve Azar,Sarah Frances Hardy (Illustrator), The Nautilus Publishing
4. “If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone,” Gideon Sterer, HarperCollins
5. (tie) “Fancy Nancy: Besties for Eternity,” Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator), HarperCollins; and “The Dark is For,” Jane Kohuth, Simon and Schuster
Adult events (Sunday, March 15–Saturday, March 21)
Amy McDowell in conversation with Jodi Skipper for “Whispers in the Pews,” 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2262
Tayari Jones on Thacker Mountain Radio Hour for “Kin,” 6 p.m. Thursday, Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2262
Children’s events (Sunday, March 15–Saturday, March 21)
No Cap Book Club (kids 10-13) will be reading “A Kid’s Book About…,” 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Storytime, “Clifford: Dream Big,” 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Chapter Captains Book Club (kids 6-9) will be reading “Princess in Black: Bathtime Battle,” 6:00 p.m. Thursday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Storytime, “What a Small Cat Needs,” 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Story Time, “Very Hungry Caterpillar” Day! 10 a.m. Saturday, Lemuria Books, 202 Banner Hall, 4465 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-7619
— Sales and/or Events Reported by Lemuria Books (Jackson); Lorelei Books (Vicksburg); Square Books (Oxford).
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