Epic Year For 11 Minnesotans Among James Beard Award Semifinalists

The long list boasts lots of new faces and nominees from the Twin Cities and beyond

My first reaction to the list of semifinalists for 2025 James Beard Awards: wow. 11 chefs and restaurants from Minnesota on this long list, including a huge showing in the national categories. Wow to Ann Ahmed for Outstanding Chef for her work at Khâluna in Minneapolis, wow to Mucci’s Italian in St. Paul for Outstanding Hospitality. Spoon and Stable just celebrated ten years and got a national nod for Outstanding Restaurant, Bûcheron and Vinai are on the long list for Best New Restaurant (in the country!) and Bar Brava for Outstanding Wine!

Vinai

Photo by Kevin Kramer

Five national nods for Minnesotans—that’s huge. WOW! I’m thrilled for everyone—Bûcheron and Vinai are both on my Best New Restaurants list in the Jan/Feb issue of Minnesota Monthly; Tim Niver is one of the absolute icons of hospitality in this town and to see him get a national nod warms my heart; Ann Ahmed is a boot-strapping chef who built a beautiful group of restaurants with soul; and Spoon and Stable sets the standard in many ways in this town, and this listing is a reflection of its dedication to craft. Bar Brava has been an innovator – one of the first to bring natural wines to Minnesota, their wines are interesting and exciting and the hospitality there is terrific.

Bûcheron

Photo by Kevin Kramer

Plus, the names on the list for our regional category of Outstanding Chef: Midwest are also fabulous: Shigeyuki Furukawa for Kado no Mise (who found out when I tagged him on Instagram!); Abraham Gessesse’s work at Hyacinth in St. Paul; Mateo Mackbee, who’s been getting well-deserved national love for St. Joseph’s Krewe; Diane Moua for her new Minneapolis spot, Diane’s Place, and Karyn Tomlinson, back in this category again for her outstanding Myriel in St. Paul.

Diane’s Place

Photo by Gemma Weston, Courtesy of Meet Minneapolis

Two St. Paul chefs on that regional category is noteworthy as well. We’ve had success there before—Christina Nguyen won Best Chef: Midwest for her work at Hai Hai last year, and Ahmed was also a finalist in that category. We’ve only had two national award winners from Minnesota: Owamni earned Best New Restaurant in 2022, and Gavin Kaysen won Rising Star Chef in 2008 when he was at Café Boulud in NYC, so that barely counts as a win for us.

Our other past Best Chef: Midwest winners are Tim McKee (La Belle Vie) in 2009, Alex Roberts (Restaurant Alma) in 2010, Isaac Becker (112 Eatery) in 2011, Paul Berglund (when he was at the Bachelor Farmer) in 2016, Kaysen in 2018, and Ann Kim for Young Joni (the famous F*** Fear speech) in 2019.

Any snubs come to mind for you? I’ve been banging the drum for Sarah Boetcher’s Black Walnut Bakery for a while—she should be in the Best Baker or Best Bakery categories. I’m surprised to not see Gustavo Romero in the Best Chef: Midwest mix, as he was a national finalist for Best New Restaurant last year. Others? Meteor for Best Bar Program would be on my list, but otherwise this list is pretty excellent for local restaurants.

This news comes in a tough week: the week that Revival suddenly shuttered all of its restaurants, putting 100-plus people out of work. It is a bit of a tonic to see such excellence getting national love. Go support your favorite local restaurants! In April, this list will be whittled down to a list of finalists—so that’s where the real action is.