No James Beard award wins for Minnesota chefs and restaurants

The Minnesota chefs and restaurants nominated for James Beard Awards are coming home hungry from Chicago.

The Twin Cities had one restaurant listed in contention for the James Beard Foundation gala awards presented Monday: Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis was a contender for the Best New Restaurant award.

Minnesota also had three chefs shortlisted for best in the Midwest. They included Paul Berglund at the Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis; Michelle Gayer at Salty Tart in Minneapolis and Lenny Russo, owner of the Heartland Restaurant and Farm Direct Market in St. Paul.

All four were edged out for another blank year for Minnesota foodies. Batard, in New York City, took the Best New Restaurant award this year. The best chef in the Midwest nod went to Gerard Craft, of Niche, in Clayton, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis.

Scores of Minnesota chefs and restaurants have been shortlisted in the last dozen years and there have been five Beard Award winners from the state.

Kramarczuk's cafe and deli in Minneapolis won an American Classics award in 2013. Isaac Becker, of the 112 Eatery in Minneapolis, took home the Best Chef: Midwest in 2011 and Tim McKee, of La Belle Vie, won the same award in 2009. Other past winners have included American Classics nods for The Pickwick in Duluth, Minn., in 2007 and Dinkytown's classic nook, Al's Breakfast, in 2004.

The awards have historically been held in New York City, but moved to Chicago this year and through 2017 to recognize that city's burgeoning food scene.