Several Minnesota restaurants and chefs are once again in the running for some big national recognition.
The 2022 James Beard Award nominations were announced Wednesday. The James Beard Awards are among the most prestigious in the restaurant industry.
Both Owamni and Union Hmong Kitchen, both in Minneapolis, are nominated for Best New Restaurant. Sean Sherman is the chef behind Owamni, his restaurant that features Indigenous food from his Native American background. Union Hmong Kitchen chef Yia Vang’s restaurant in the North Loop specializes in Hmong dishes.
Sherman and Vang are both nominated for Best Chef Midwest as well, along with Jorge Guzmán of Petite León in south Minneapolis, and Erik Skaar, of Vann in Spring Park.
Owamni with Sherman focusing on native food has been a big hit in the Twin Cities so far.
“We feature indigenous food, flavor, and culture. We prioritize purchasing from indigenous food producers first, then support our amazing and diverse local food growers,” the restaurant's website says. “We’ve removed colonial ingredients not originally from this land which includes dairy, wheat flour, and cane sugar. These are modern indigenous offerings featuring a mix of indigenous game, fish, birds, and insects along with wild plants, Native American heirloom farm varieties and locally grown produce.”
One of seven siblings, Chef Yia Vang was born in a Thai refugee camp where he lived until his family resettled in central Wisconsin. Now a James Beard nominee with Union Hmong Kitchen, Yia says, "they bring Hmong flavors to American palates and invite people to change how they think about food by considering the influences in each bite."
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Kim Bartmann, of the Bartmann Group in Minneapolis, is nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur. That group includes Barbette, Tiny Diner, Red Stag Supperclub, Book Club, Pat’s Tap, and Gigi’s Café.
The ceremony where the James Beard Awards announce winners will take place in Chicago this coming June. You can click here to see the entire list of nominees.