When Karyn Tomlinson took the stage at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House this June to accept the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest, she wore a piece of family history: a floor-length coral dress her grandmother once donned as the Dassel Corn Queen in 1941. It was a fitting tribute for a chef whose culinary philosophy is deeply rooted in heritage, hospitality, and the Midwest.

Tomlinson, the 40-year-old chef-owner of Myriel in St. Paul, Minnesota, has quickly become a leading voice in the new wave of Midwestern cuisine. Her restaurant, celebrated for its “grandma cooking nouveau”—a blend of Scandinavian and Minnesotan roots with refined French technique—has garnered acclaim from Food & Wine, Esquire, and The Washington Post. Think golden pie crust that melts in your mouth, baked after it was coaxed into form with cold lard and handheld pastry cutters—exactly how her grandmother taught her.

Tomlinson’s approach is both humble and precise: She champions local farmers, leans into sustainability, and crafts dishes that are comforting and sophisticated, earning her a loyal following and national recognition.

Raised in a family where hospitality was a way of life, Tomlinson’s journey took her from the woods of Minnesota to the kitchens of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris at age 25 and the storied, two-Michelin-starred Fäviken in Sweden. She returned home, at 32, with a global perspective and a mission: to create food that connects people, honors the land, and celebrates the unsung ingredients of the region.