A chef from Austin, Texas, shocked the food world by taking home the 2015 James Beard Foundation Awards that was held on Monday in Chicago. The award was expected to go to one of two Houston, Texas, chefs, but the prize surprisingly was given to someone else.

The winner was Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin. Franklin beat out Hugo Ortega of Hugo’s and Justin Yu of Oxheart who were expected to win the Best Chef: Southwest award. This year was Ortega’s fourth consecutive nomination, while Yu was on his second consecutive nomination.

As for Franklin, he’s known for his skills to smoke meats, especially the ethereal brisket that everyone lines up outside his restaurant for. He started with a barbecue trailer in 2009 which led to opening a restaurant in 2011.

Ever since the opening of his restaurant, Aaron Franklin’s establishment has been mobbed with huge lines. Many food goers describe his food as the best barbecue in Texas. Others claim that it is the best barbecue in the world.

The award given to Franklin by James Beard Foundation is considered to be the Oscar for chefs. It is the highest honor a chef and his restaurant could get. Other contestants that lost to Franklin were Austinite Bryce Gilmore of Barley Swine, Martin Rios of Restaurant Martin in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Kevin Binkley of Binkley’s in Cave Creek, Arizona.

Aaron Franklin, despite breaking the Houston expectation, still kept the honor in Texas. In the end, the award was a battle between the Texans, and the city of Austin won with Franklin’s famous brisket.