Minnesotans nab 11 semifinalist nods for the 2025 James Beard Awards

The semifinalists for the 2025 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced Wednesday, and it was a historic showing for Minnesota restaurants with nominations in five national categories, and five local chefs on the long list for Best Chef: Midwest.

The high-profile culinary awards, widely viewed as the industry's highest honors, recognize and celebrate excellence in restaurants and food media. The restaurant awards fall into 10 national categories and 12 regional categories.

This year's semifinalists include national nods in four categories for local restaurants: Outstanding Chef for Ann Ahmed for Khâluna in Minneapolis, Outstanding Hospitality for Mucci's Italian in St. Paul, Outstanding Restaurant for Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis, and two nods in the Best New Restaurant category for Bûcheron and Vinai, both Minneapolis. Bar Brava, the Minneapolis natural wine bar, made the list in the Outstanding Wine Program category.

The chefs representing for Best Chef: Midwest are Shigeyuki Furukawa of Kado no Mise and Diane Moua of Diane's Place, both Minneapolis; Abraham Gessesse of Hyacinth and Myriel's Karyn Tomlinson, both St. Paul; and Mateo Mackbee for Krewe in St. Joseph.

Best New Restaurant: Bûcheron

Adam Ritter and Jeanie Janas Ritter were just running out the door to tend to kids and restaurant matters when they learned their Minneapolis restaurant Bûcheron was nominated. They received a text from fellow nominee and award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen, whose restaurants they have both worked at.

"We're absolutely thrilled," Janas Ritter said, adding that they're just as thrilled for the other Minnesota chefs and restaurants that made the list. "It's super exciting to see our friends who we just adore and respect on that list. We're in really good company and we're really grateful for the recognition."

Best New Restaurant: Vinai

Yia Vang was in Kansas City, where he's a guest chef at The Town Company, when his public relations team broke the news to him. The chefs at that restaurant, Johnny Leach, was a semifinalist in the Best Chef: Midwest category, and his wife Helen Jo Leach was nominated in the best pastry chef category. They cheered and congratulated each other.

Vang's next reaction was elation for how many Minnesota restaurants and chefs were nominated. As he gets ready to feature dishes from Vinai in Kansas City — shrimp toast, deviled eggs and grilled fish — he said the nomination for his restaurant celebrating his Hmong heritage is an honor.

The big reward, he said, has been his restaurant's place in the community. He thought about diners who have come through the restaurant, including those who stayed at Vinai, the refugee camp in Thailand where he and his family lived and the restaurant's namesake.

"I got emotional," he said. "One of them told their story of the pain and the heartache and the suffering at the camp. Vinai was a place of tears and pain and suffering, but we were sitting in Vinai, the restaurant, and there was laughter — it's a place of joy and rebirth."

Outstanding Restaurant: Spoon and Stable

Gavin Kaysen's first Minneapolis restaurant, Spoon and Stable, is recognized for Outstanding Restaurant just after celebrating its 10th anniversary.

"It's really exciting. I love it, too, because it's about the whole entity of the space and the team. I love that it celebrates everyone that has helped contribute to the restaurant," said Kaysen.

"I never expect it. I knew the list was coming out today and I was hoping to see familiar names on it. It's amazing to see alumni from Spoon and Stable recognized. Diane [Moua of Diane's Place], Adam [Ritter of Bûcheron] and Vinai are all there. They all came through Spoon."

Kaysen moved to Minneapolis to open Spoon and Stable after working at the celebrated Cafe Boulud in New York City. He was also proud to see the national attention his hometown has received. "It's incredible to see how important Minneapolis has become to the national food scene."

Outstanding Wine Program: Bar Brava

Dan Rice fully ignored the adage of real estate when he chose a north Minneapolis corner for his natural wine bar. But since opening in 2019, the area has begun to change. And change is at the heart of Bar Brava, where Rice is dedicated to uplifting winemakers with ethos and dedication to craft.

"We named Bar Brava for the Catalan word for 'brave' or 'rugged,'" said Rice. "I think that kind of means everything natural wine stands for and we were planting a flag for what we do."

To get the national recognition was nearly overwhelming. "It's an honor. It's a huge — I mean, James Beard anything is a big honor. We're stoked. We're looking forward to sharing our wines with even more people."

Best Chef: Midwest: Karyn Tomlinson

The chef-owner of St. Paul's Myriel, Karyn Tomlinson is fresh off her recognition as one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs, but she wasn't waiting by the phone to see if she'd gotten this honor. "I try to forget when the list is coming out because I don't want to get too nervous. But I think this is the second time that Yia [Vang] has been the first person to text me. It's been a really fun little flurry of chef community communication."

After spending the previous day in meetings with her staff, Tomlinson was reflective. "I was looking back to where we were — starting during the pandemic to where we are now and it hit me that everyone was taking seriously what we do. And what a great group of people to be doing it with — especially now. It's nice in the armpit of winter to have this little boost for everybody."

Best Chef Midwest: Diane Moua

"Everybody on the list is [expletive] great," said chef Diane Moua of Diane's Place. Previously recognized for desserts, this is Diane Moua's first nomination in the category. "I've been on the long list maybe five times for pastry, but this is so amazing to be recognized as Best Chef: Midwest. It's the same level of exciting, but it means even more as a pastry chef turned chef. I mean, you never see a chef turn into a pastry chef. It's really cool to get that acknowledgment."

Moua also extended the honor to her entire team at her restaurant, noting that the night before had been their staff recognition party. "A chef and a restaurant are only as good as the team and I am 100% here because of the team behind me. To have their support and the support of the city — it's incredible."

Best Chef: Midwest: Matteo Mackbee

"I'm usually not at a loss for words, but I'm at a loss for words right now. I'm in the company of a talented group of chefs; it's kind of odd for me being the Minnesota chef on this list from a small college town that we're being recognized," said Mateo Mackbee of Krewe, who heard the news from the Star Tribune.

"We just go to work everyday and I'm just happy for the community that it's something that they can be proud of. I'm humbled for sure."

The chef and fiancee Erin Lucas opened Krewe alongside their bakery Flour and Flower in St. Joseph in May 2020. At the time, it was a gamble to open a New Orleans heritage style restaurant in the small community. But Mackbee, whose grandfather was a chef and mom was born and raised in New Orleans, said it's something the area has embraced.

"This is a dream of mine to open a restaurant that celebrates the New Orleans side of my family," Mackbee said. "We're really happy to be cooking that kind of food and stay true to the classic red beans, gumbo, jambalaya that are my grandfather's recipes. I'm just trying to carry on his legacy through cooking."

Passing the torch

Last year Christina Nguyen took home the award for Best Chef: Midwest for her work at Hai Hai. It was a major comeback for the local culinary scene; in 2022, no Minnesota chefs were recognized in the final list for the category. Fellow Minneapolis chef Ann Ahmed also was a finalist in the category.

Past local winners include former La Belle Vie chef Tim McKee's win in 2009, Alex Roberts (Restaurant Alma) in 2010, Isaac Becker (112 Eatery) in 2011, Paul Berglund (formerly of the Bachelor Farmer) in 2016, Gavin Kaysen (Spoon and Stable) in 2018 and Ann Kim (Young Joni) in 2019.

Kaysen is Minnesota's only national James Beard Award-winning chef; he was named Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2008 during his tenure at Café Boulud in New York City. In 2022, Owamni brought home the national honor of Best New Restaurant; Gustavo and Kate Romero's Oro by Nixta was a finalist in the same category last year.

Today's semifinalist list will be trimmed further in April, when the James Beard Foundation releases its list of nominees. Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards are often described as the Oscars of the food world. The 2025 awards ceremony will take place in Chicago on June 9.

For a complete list of the semifinalists, go to jamesbeard.org.