CHICAGO — Minnesota swept in two categories at this year’s James Beard Awards, considered the nation’s top culinary honors.

Bûcheron in Minneapolis was awarded Best New Restaurant, a national award. In the Best Chef: Midwest category, Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel in St. Paul took the top honor. Winners of the prestigious awards, considered the “Oscars of the food world,” were announced Monday night at Lyric Opera in downtown Chicago

“My heart is full of gratitude,” Tomlinson said as she accepted the award from Sean Sherman, who won James Beard Awards’ Best New Restaurant in 2022. “I’m so thankful to the James Beard Foundation and everything that you do. I’m thankful to God. I’m thankful for all the incredible people that he’s put in my life, who’ve made this moment happen.”

Two other local chefs were in the same category: Diane Moua of Diane’s Place and Shigeyuki Furukawa of Kado no Mise, both in Minneapolis. David Utterback of Ota and Yoshitomo in Omaha, and Loryn Nalic of the Balkan Treat Box in Webster Groves, Mo., rounded out the category.

On the national scene, Dan Rice’s Minneapolis natural wine bar Bar Brava was nominated in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, but lost to Charleston of Baltimore.

Bûcheron competed against nine other finalists from Denver, Seattle, Houston, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Washington, Winter Park, Fla., New York City and Helena, Mont. The French corner restaurant in Minneapolis’ Kingfield neighborhood is from spouses Jeanie Janas Ritter and chef Adam Ritter.

Working behind the scenes was last year’s Best Chef: Midwest winner, Christina Nguyen of Hai Hai. Nguyen was among the chefs preparing bites for the post-award reception. She prepared English pea wontons with tom kha broth and coconut chili crisp.

The 35th annual awards were co-hosted by celebrity chefs Nyesha Arrington and Minnesota’s Andrew Zimmern, whose Intuitive Content production company was nominated for a James Beard media award for “Hope in the Water,” a three-part PBS documentary.

“It’s a great honor (to co-host) but the real magic that I get to witness being backstage, as it were, is seeing so many lives transformed,” Zimmern said during pre-show coverage. “And there are so many people, who because they were a nominee, get to have a platform. And because chefs work on issues like immigration and health care and gender equity and pay equity, and you know, food waste and hunger, their issues will then be put forward in a much more serious way.”

Zimmern also presented the 2025 Humanitarian of the Year Award to Chad Houser, founder and CEO of Café Momentum, the Dallas-based nonprofit restaurant teens involved in justice issues with educational and employment opportunities in the culinary industry.

A roster of culinary luminaries were presenters, including Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Nina Compton, Dale DeGroff, Stephanie Izard, Padma Lakshmi, Garrett Oliver, Serigne Mbaye, Danny Meyer, Michael Rafidi, Adam Richman, Marcus Samuelsson, Gail Simmons, Sean Sherman, Alpana Singh, Bobby Stuckey, Sherry Yard and more.

On Sunday, the James Beard Foundation held its inaugural Impact Awards, recognize “changemakers actively working to push for standards that create a more equitable, sustainable, and economically viable restaurant industry and food system for producers, workers, and consumers alike.” U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who represents Minnesota’s Second Congressional District, was one of five honorees.

Although Craig did not attend the ceremony in Chicago — the hunt was still on for the suspect in the shootings of state House DFL leader Melissa Hortman her husband Mark and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette — she did send a statement accepting the award:

“Food should not be a privilege – but the ability to gather around the dinner table with folks you love certainly is. I’m especially reminded of that this weekend in Minnesota," she said. “In times like these, it’s more important than ever that we find strength in community. So, I want to thank the James Beard Foundation community — and my fellow honorees — for creating this incredible community that is making a difference in the lives of everyday people. It is truly an honor to have a seat at your table. Thank you.

Minnesotans were already off to a strong start to the weekend. On Saturday, TPT’s locally produced show “Relish,” hosted by chef Yia Vang, won a James Beard Broadcast Media Award, edging out Bravo’s popular reality show “Top Chef” and public television mainstay Lidia Bastianich’s “Lidia Celebrates America: Changemakers.”

“Relish” was recognized in the lifestyle visual media category, which “honors excellence in food-centric talk shows and lifestyle programs that explore food or beverage alongside broader societal and cultural themes.”

Brittany Shrimpton and Amy Melin launched “Relish” in 2019 to highlight the global influences of Minnesota cuisine. The show began as quick five-minute episodes that streamed online to its current format, full 30-minute episodes airing on TPT’s traditional television station as well as online.

Claire Kelloway of Minneapolis was among a team of writers from Food & Environment Reporting Network and Mother Jones who won in the columns and newsletter category, which recognizes individuals or a group that demonstrate thought-provoking opinions on a food- or drink-related topic.

Kelloway, along with Teresa Cotsirilos and Bridget Huber, wrote a series of articles on the farm bill; Kelloway’s was titled "The Farm Bill Hall of Shame: The maddening history of today’s agriculture policy fights."

And Eden Prairie chef and entrepreneur Amelia Moreno-Damgaard was featured in National Geographic Channel’s “World Eats Bread,” which won the docuseries visual media category. Moreno-Damgaard’s episode was “Tortillas in Guatemala” and can be seen on Disney+.

For a complete list of winners, go to jamesbeard.org.

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