By Chanda Temple
On Jan. 21, 2026, it didn’t take long for word to spread that Kristen Farmer Hall of the La Fete French bistro in downtown Birmingham had been named a James Beard Award semfinalist for Best Chef in the South.
Her DMs, text messages and voicemails were full of celebrations about her shot at receiving the highest honor in the food industry. Finalists will be named on March 31, and the winners will be announced on June 15 at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony in Chicago.
“It’s been a wonderful day for me, for La Fete and our city because of all the other nominations,” said Kristen, who is one of five Birmingham chefs/professionals/restaurants named as a semifinalist. Such news came two months after LaFete and 10 Birmingham restaurants/chefs were named in the MICHELIN Guide’s first-ever MICHELIN Guide to the American South. (La Fete made MICHELIN Guide’s Bib Gourmand List, which recognizes restaurants for “good quality, good value cooking.”)
“So, Birmingham continues to crush,” she said. “It’s been a big year.”
As the accolades rolled in that Wednesday, it was business as usual for Kristen.
She made her popular Beef Wellington, a special that is only offered on Wednesday nights and always sells out at the restaurant. Then, she waited in the school carpool line to pick up her daughters, Eleanor and Emma. Next, her staff told her the restaurant’s regular milk order was short, and she drove to the store to get two cartons of whole milk to help make potato gratin for the restaurant’s roasted chicken. She also picked up decaffeinated coffee.
And this was all done before she walked into the restaurant at 5:20 p.m. to smiles and hugs from customers and staff.
“It’s a wonderful thing to be recognized for the work that I’ve been doing and my team does every day. It’s not why we do it, but it’s certainly exciting when it happens,” she said.
“We have a long tradition of incredible hospitality here, and I’m just happy to be a part of continuing the vision and continuing the journey.”
Kristen’s food journey started when she baked with her daughters when they were 3 and 5 inside their Crestwood home. They would package the items, leave them on friends’ doorsteps and run away, which is how they got the nickname, the Baking Bandits. Kristen adopted the name for her baking business. In October 2013, she did her first pop-up shop. It did so well, that she went on to become a vendor at Birmingham’s Pepper Place Farmers Market in spring 2014.
She would work all week at UAB in fundraising and community relations, and then she’d bake all night. On Saturdays, she would set up at Pepper Place, and sell out every time. Once she got home, she took a nap and got ready to do it all over again. After several months of that routine, she followed her heart and committed to Baking Bandits, full-time.
“I felt like there was a path that was choosing me that I needed to choose, and that’s what I did,” she said. “It’s been a wild adventure since 2014.”
She continued with Baking Bandits, which is now known as Bandit Pâtisserie. In the spring of 2025, Bandit Pâtisserie moved into a large storefront at 2323 First Avenue North in Birmingham.
Kristen created other notable eateries, including opening LaFete, which means “the party” or “celebration” in 2022. Its first location was at First Avenue North and 22nd Street North. Then, in the summer of 2023, she moved LaFete to Morris Avenue. The two large windows that face Morris Avenue used to the be the entrance for two drive-thru lanes at a bank. After major reconstruction of the former bank, the windows stand tall and wide, delivering hefty doses of sunshine in the day and the cover of night in the evening into the belly of the restaurant.
Surrounding the windows is wallpaper covered in pink peonies, Kristen’s favorites. To her, they represent motherhood and the power of women.
The wallpaper served as the perfect backdrop for artist Sophie McVicar Tate as she sat at the bar to celebrate the opening of her art exhibit, Gathered Sanctuary, at the downtown Birmingham library. (It will be on display until March 28.)
“That solo show has been 13 months in the making, so this a very apropos celebratory meal,” she said, as waited to place an order of the Beef Wellington. “I’ve been dining at LaFete since it opened, and I feel like (Kristen) does a great job. There is a level of consistency that is comforting.”
“Now that she’s been nominated, my biggest concern is it will be harder to get a seat without a reservation,” she said with a smile.
Reservations are encouraged at the restaurant, which was already abuzz with activity by 5 p.m. On this night, the Beef Wellington was one of the stars. Encased in an intricate latticed puff pastry and served with pomme puree and Bordelaise sauce, Kristen makes about one or two of Beef Wellingtons just on Wednesdays, and when they are gone, they are gone.
The fan favorite not only fills tummies but also fills hope. Last week, in support of Minnesota and championing economic equality, civic engagement and social justice for Latino and immigrant families in Alabama, LaFete said it would donate 100 percent of its Jan. 28 Wellington Wednesday sales to the Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama (HICA). Sales totaled $2,123 that night, and LaFete rounded up its donation to $2,500.
The move was one that moved followers.
One supporter posted this to LaFete’s Facebook page: “You have gone from my favorite restaurant to my most favorite restaurant. Thank you for being a business who chose to be on the right side of history.”
LaFete was one of several Birmingham businesses to support HICA through special campaigns, which HICA CEO Carlos Aleman appreciated.
“If we can stand together, we’ll be better and that’s really what our country is about,” Aleman said on HICA’s Facebook page. “When we’re able to come together, we’re being the best of ourselves… and it makes our communities stronger.”
Helping through food is nothing new for Kristen.
Last Thanksgiving, Kristen invited customers to buy an extra pumpkin pie from Bandit Pâtisserie to be donated to the FireHouse Shelter, First Light and Pathways for Thanksgiving.
On Thanksgiving eve, she and friend Don Lupo loaded up the pies and delivered them. Don said the pies were so pretty, the people at the shelters gave pause in eating them.
“They were looking at them like, ‘Holy mackerel! These are the most beautiful things we’ve seen in our lives,’ ” Don recalled. “I called them pieces of art.”
On Thanksgiving day, Don visited the FireHouse Shelter to check on everyone and the pies. Happiness filled the room.
“There were grins there. It was like, ‘Can I have another piece?’ ” he said. “The pies looked good to begin with and tasted 10 times better.”
Kristen’s generosity continued on Jan. 1, 2026 when she called on Don again, explaining that since LaFete would be closed for a week, she wanted to donate all of the chicken, Romaine lettuce and green beans she had in her cooler. Again, she and Don delivered food to FireHouse Shelter.
“The people who call the FireHouse Shelter home, may never be able to thank her or know that they ate this great meal from LaFete, but they will be able to tell people that ‘I had the best chicken in my life, ‘ ” Don said.
Giving from the heart is part of the vision Kristen had for LaFete, where people feel at home inside and outside of the restaurant. But she credits her team for helping her in all she does, from national recognitions to serving those in Birmingham.
“I wouldn’t be here without my team. It means a lot to me that La Fete and the team are recognized,” she said. “This is really a dream come true.”
Savor This! LaFete, which is located at 2018 Morris Avenue, offers cocktails, brioche rolls with Eastaboga honey, potato pave, roasted chicken, Beef Bourguignon Pie, French onion soup, Beef Wellington, Snapper En Papillote, and more, is open Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday from 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Brunch is available on Saturday and Sunday.
Bandit Pâtisserie, which has seasonal pastries, coffee, croissants, tarts, cookies, macarons, muffins, etc., is located at 2323 First Avenue North. It is open Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Chanda Temple is an award-winning writer living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. If you have a food story idea, email her at chandatemple@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @chandatemple.
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