Shawn McKenzie of Café Cerés is Minnesota's sole James Beard Award nominee this year
MINNEAPOLIS -- After a yearslong streak of nominations, Minnesota will go unrepresented in the Best Chef: Midwest category of the James Beard Awards.
The state's sole nomination in 2023 went to Shawn McKenzie of Café Cerés in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category.
Aside from the awards that were canceled due to COVID, the last time Minnesota did not have a Best Chef: Midwest nominee was 2006, according to the James Beard Foundation's website.
Four Twin Cities chefs were named semifinalists this year, but failed to advance to the nominee stage. Those semifinalists were:
- Ann Ahmed from Khaluna
- Christina Nguyen from Hai Hai
- Karyn Tomlinson from Myriel
- Yia Vang from Union Hmong Kitchen.
The 2023 nominees for Best Chef: Midwest are:
- Sanaa Abourezk, Sanaa's Gourmet Mediterranean, Sioux Falls, SD
- Gregory León, Amilinda, Milwaukee, WI
- Francesco Mangano, Osteria Papavero, Madison, WI
- Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger, Fairchild, Madison, WI
- David Utterback, Yoshitomo, Omaha, NE
Last year, three Minneapolis chefs were nominated for Best Chef: Midwest, but the award went to Dane Baldwin of The Diplomat in Milwaukee. Owamni, a downtown Minneapolis restaurant specializing in Indigenous food, won Best New Restaurant.
The James Beard Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the culinary industry. The winners of the restaurant and chef awards will be announced June 5.