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Five Minnesota chefs were announced Wednesday to be among the semifinalists at the annual James Beard Awards, one of the industry’s most prestigious honors.  

Café Cerés chef Shawn McKenzie received the state’s only national nod. McKenzie co-founded the restaurant with two locations in Minneapolis. McKenzie is also the executive pastry chef at Rustica Bakery, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. 

Yia Vang, whose pop-up Hmong restaurant was profiled by MPR News

, was nominated in the Best Chef, Midwest category. This represents two years in a row that Vang has been nominated; last year he was a semifinalist in both the Best Chef, Midwest and Best New Restaurant categories, the latter for his Union Hmong Kitchen. Vang was also a nominee for Best New Restaurant, the next step in the awards process. 

The awards are presented annually and date back to 1990. They were named for James Beard, a chef, author and pioneering creator of television cooking shows.  

Announcements of nominees are scheduled for March 29, with winners awarded at a ceremony on June 5 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Winners will receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the insignia of the James Beard Foundation. 

Here are the Minnesota semifinalists, by category: 

Minnesota News

Lifestyle

Food and Drink

Twin Cities News

NewsPartners

Max Sparber

Author

Four chefs are in the running for best in the Midwest, including Yia Vang of Union Hmong Kitchen in Minneapolis. Twin Cities chef Shawn McKenzie of Café Cerés received the state’s only national nod.

A Hmong man stands in front of a state fair booth

5 Minnesota chefs make the cut as 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists

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