Nominees for the 2025 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced Wednesday, and several Twin Cities chefs — including Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel in St. Paul — made the shortlist for the prestigious culinary awards.

Tomlinson, nominated for Best Chef Midwest, is St. Paul’s only nominee this year; all the other Minnesota honorees are in Minneapolis.

Across the river, French-influenced Bûcheron in south Minneapolis is one of 10 nominees for the national Best New Restaurant recognition, and Bar Brava in Northeast is one of five nominees in the national Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program category.

Diane Moua of Diane’s Place and Shigeyuki Furukawa of Kado no Mise, both in Minneapolis, are also nominated alongside Tomlinson for Best Chef Midwest, which encompasses Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

With three out of five nominees in the Midwest category coming from the Twin Cities, this year represents a strong showing for our local food scene. Last year, Christina Nguyen of Hai Hai and Hola Arepa in Minneapolis ultimately won the top prize in the category.

This year’s longlist of semifinalists, which had been announced in January, included several St. Paul spots, all of which are always worth a visit: Tomlinson and Abraham Gessesse of Hyacinth were both up for Best Chef Midwest, and Mucci’s was in the running for outstanding hospitality on a national level.

Neither Gessesse nor Mucci’s made this week’s whittled-down list of finalists.

Myriel also earned another national honor this week, being named No. 9 in the top 15 U.S. restaurants in Food & Wine Magazine’s Global Tastemaker awards. Tomlinson herself was named by the magazine last year as one of the country’s best new chefs. She has previously been a semifinalist for the James Beard’s Midwest award three times, but this year is her first time making the shortlist of finalists.

The James Beard Foundation also recognized Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig with one of five Impact Awards, a new honor introduced this year to highlight those pushing for “standards that create a more equitable, sustainable, and economically viable restaurant industry and food system for producers, workers, and consumers alike,” per the organization. Craig, from Minnesota’s 2nd District, serves as minority leader on the House Committee on Agriculture.

This year’s James Beard Awards will be announced in June, at Chicago’s Lyric Opera.

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