James Beard Award

The James Beard Foundation chose a Boston chef for a leadership award this year even though the pandemic forced her Park Drive restaurant to close. Chef Irene Li never reopened the business, but she turned that traumatic moment in her career – the closure of Mei Mei – into an opportunity to better serve her community. “There are lots of…

Even though Irene Li closed her Boston restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened it, she is heralded by the James Beard Foundation for her leadership in the culinary industry.

Mei Mei’s Chef Irene Li has built a dumpling empire in Boston, but it’s her work to help people in the community and the restaurant industry that is placing her in the spotlight.

[This story first appeared on Boston Restaurant Talk.] A James Beard Award winner who opened an Italian restaurant in South Boston a couple of years ago is going to be opening another Italian dining spot nearby. According to an article from Food & Wine, Karen Akunowicz is planning to open Bar Volpe “blocks” away from Fox & the Knife on West...

The James Beard Foundation announced the nominees for the James Beard Foundation Awards on Monday. This announcement came on what would have been the 30th Anniversary James Beard Awards in Chicago, according to the foundation. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the foundation postponed award activities so that it could focus on the James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Industry…

Some 40 New England chefs, restaurants and wine and beer programs were nominated this week as semifinalists for the prestigious James Beard Awards. Chef Karen Akunowicz’ Fox & the Knife in Boston and Tanám in Somerville, Massachusetts were nominated for best restaurant. Fox & the Knife is not new to praise, having been celebrated for its Italian food since opening…