On April 2, 2025, the James Beard Foundation named Chad Houser, founder and CEO of Café Momentum, as its 2025 Humanitarian of the Year. The award is given annually to an individual or organization working in the realm of food who has given selflessly and worked tirelessly to better the lives of others and society at large. 

Houser has carved a unique niche at the intersection of fine dining and youth justice through his award-winning national nonprofit restaurant, which is staffed almost entirely by justice-involved youth. “It has been the honor of my life to work alongside more than 1,200 justice-involved youth who have transformed their lives with the support of Café Momentum,” Houser said. “This award reflects the power and potential of every young person when we believe in them. When we provide the tools, resources, and opportunities they deserve, they rise every single time.”    

In 2012, Houser — who had by then been recognized by Dallas’s D Magazine as one of the city’s best up-and-coming chefs — left for-profit kitchens and started fundraising for Café Momentum. Three years later, he launched the nonprofit restaurant in Dallas. Today, Café Momentum operates brick-and-mortars in Pittsburgh and Atlanta; a fourth venue is set to open in Denver in 2026. With support from Stand Together Foundation, Houser aims to have 10 brick-and-mortar locations across the country by 2035.     

This accolade is not the first for Houser. He also has been recognized as a CNN Hero and one of Dallas’s Most Powerful Business Leaders. Notably, Houser joins iconic chefs like José Andrés and Art Smith and social entrepreneurs like Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries who are past recipients of the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year honor.  

The 2025 James Beard Achievement Awards will take place on June 15 in Chicago where Houser will be honored. Read the James Beard Foundation’s announcement.