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Of the 10 Minnesota chefs and restaurants 

 for the 2026 James Beard awards, only one was named as a nominee. 

Chef Shigeyuki Furukawa of the Minneapolis restaurant Kado No Mise is nominated for Best Chef: Midwest. The organization 

Furukawa was named as a semifinalist for the category in January, along with Diane Moua of Diane’s Place, Gustavo Romero and Kate Romero of Oro by Nixta and Yia Vang of Vinai. 

He was nominated in the same category last year, but he lost to another Twin Cities chef, Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel in St. Paul.

Furukawa was born in Japan and became a Kaiseki chef in Tokyo, according to Kado No Mise’s website. Kaiseki is a form of Japanese cooking that involves multicourse, skillfully prepared meals, with dishes artfully presented.  

With his nomination, Furukawa is competing against chef Zak Baker of Ca’Lucchenzo in Wauwatosa, Wis., outside of Milwaukee. Other nominees for best chef of the Midwest region are Loryn Nalic of Balkan Treat Box in Webster Groves, Mo., Nick Bognar of restaurants Sado and Pavilion in St. Louis, Mo., and David Utterback of restaurants Yoshitomo and Ota in Omaha, Neb.

Neighboring Wisconsin has five chefs and restaurants named as James Beard nominees this year, including the Milwaukee chef competing in the same category as Furukawa. Hastings Cameron of Imaginary Factory in Madison is a nominee in the outstanding professional in cocktail service category. 

1033 Omakase in Milwaukee is a nominee for best new restaurant. Two Door County businesses are nominated: Cultured in Sister Bay for outstanding bakery and Sway Brewing & Blending in Baileys Harbor for outstanding wine and beverages program.

No restaurants or chefs are nominated from Iowa or the Dakotas. 

Minnesota News

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Lisa Ryan

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Only one Minnesota chef was named as a nominee for the 2026 James Beard awards.

Minneapolis chef Shigeyuki Furukawa nominated for 2026 James Beard award

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