Photo by Caitlin Abrams
Chef Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel
It's a pinch-me kind of moment following last night's James Beard Award ceremony at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago: Chef Karyn Tomlinson of St. Paul restaurant Myriel took home the award for Best Chef: Midwest, and Bûcheron, Adam and Jeanie Ritter's French-American-yet-indelibly-Minnesotan restaurant nestled in south Minneapolis, took home the award for Best New Restaurant. (In the whole country, that is!) Not to mention that the TPT series Relish, hosted by chef Yia Vang, won a Beard media award in the category of Lifestyle Visual Media, and U.S. Rep Angie Craig won an Impact Award for her efforts on the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act.
Maybe the Beard Foundation is on a hot streak of recognizing the female chefs who've been steadily anchoring the Cities' scene for years on years, considering chef Christina Nguyen of Hai Hai's win for Best Chef: Midwest in 2024, followed by Tomlinson's this year. What you might mistake for subtlety in Myriel's food is actually unbridled reverence for the earth itself, and all that grows and walks on it: It's beef shank atop white beans and watercress; it's glossy green stalks of asparagus in ramp butter; it's lard-crust apple pie. We're glowing for you, Karyn! To quote Lizzo, another daughter of Minnesota, about damn time, and to quote my colleague Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, who wrote this when Tomlinson was named a Beard semifinalist for the fourth time this year:
"I’m kind of mad about this, to be honest, because Tomlinson should have won this any of the last four years. There seems to be some vibe that she’s so nice, she’ll patiently wait forever for her turn. And I say: This is misogynist glass ceiling bull hockey. Tomlinson is a brilliant chef, as we all knew when she was cooking at dearly departed Corner Table, and when she was the first woman to win the big Cochon pork butchery and cooking contest. Since the minute it opened, Myriel has advanced the culinary arts in terms of sourcing, delicacy, warm and kind hospitality—why? Tell me why she hasn’t won already? Sorry to end this on a downer but: I am not prepared to settle for a world where women are penalized for being damn near perfect, smart, and heart-led. Hooray for Karyn Tomlinson—now, now, now!"
Photo by Caitlin Abrams
Bucheron
They heard you, Dara. As for Bûcheron, so much joy for this exceptional team of people running this exceptional restaurant, headed by Demi alum Adam Ritter in the kitchen, roasting turnips with bone marrow and poaching octopus for Bolognese, and Jeanie Ritter in the front of house, conjuring a warm, thoughtful, unpretentious experience for anyone who steps through the door. I have to quote Dara again here, writing about Bûcheron's tortellini in acorn broth:
"The flavors of the dish are subtle, elusive, fascinating: woody, but fresh, like an aged wood-cask sherry, but without any sweetness or alcohol. Paired with mushrooms and celeriac, the bowl of pasta in broth is really a whole symphony of earthy tones, like music made primarily for bassoon, and then, in a novel counterpoint, the familiar wheaty flavors of the fresh pasta come across as a sweet and light, fluty top note." And the Beard goes to the acorn broth.
Photo by Caitlin Abrams
Chef Yia Vang of Vinai
As for Relish: Chef Vang, seems you were made for television as much as you were made to fire pork chops and Hilltribe grilled chicken on the line. Biggest kudos to producers Brittany Shrimpton and Amy Melin and the whole team of people who make Relish happen; it's truly a gift to this community and the many characters who make our scene what it is. Long live public television. Rep. Craig, keep on keeping on and supporting family farmers and rural communities—the work gets more important by the day.
