Karen_Akunowicz
Karen Akunowicz
American chef
Karen Akunowicz (born September 17, 1978)[1] is an American chef in Boston, Massachusetts.
Karen Akunowicz | |
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Born | (1978-09-17) September 17, 1978 (age 45) Kearny, New Jersey, U.S. |
Education | University of Massachusetts Amherst, Cambridge School of Culinary Arts |
Culinary career | |
Current restaurant(s)
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Previous restaurant(s)
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Television show(s) | |
Award(s) won
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Notes | |
Akunowicz is the chef and proprietor of Fox & the Knife enoteca in Boston, which has been named to several best new restaurants lists. She received a 2018 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Northeast.
Akunowicz was born and raised in Kearny, New Jersey. She graduated from Kearny High School in 1996.[2]
After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she moved to Boston.[citation needed] While waiting tables, Akunowicz considered applying to graduate school for social work, but she decided to go to culinary school instead, attending the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.[3][4]
Akunowicz worked at L'Avian Blu in Modena, Italy[5] and at Boston restaurants Via Matta and Oleana before becoming the executive chef and a partner at Joanne Chang's Myers+Chang.[6] She was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2015, and she won the title of Best Chef: Northeast in 2018.[7]
Akunowicz co-authored a cookbook published in 2017, Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery.[8]
In 2019, Akunowicz opened her own restaurant, Fox & the Knife, an Italian restaurant in South Boston.[9] In 2019, it was named Best New Restaurant in America by Food and Wine Magazine and Eater International[10][6] and in 2020 by USA Today.[11] Fox & the Knife was also nominated for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America in 2019 and 2020.[12]
In November 2021, Akunowicz opened her second restaurant, Bar Volpe, in South Boston.[13] It focuses on Southern Italian cuisine.[14][15]
In March 2024, Akunowicz opened an offshoot of Fox & the Knife, named Fox & Flight, in Boston's Logan International Airport.[16]
In 2014, Akunowicz competed on Beat Bobby Flay (season 1, episode 2), losing to Flay with Chicken & Waffles. In 2015, Akunowicz was a contestant on season 13 of Top Chef.[1] She was a guest judge on Season 6 of Top Chef Canada in 2019.[4] In 2020, Akunowicz competed on Top Chef: All-Stars L.A.[17] In 2022 she competed in Season 3 of Guy Fieri's Tournament of Champions.[18]
Akunowicz identifies as a queer femme.[19] In 2014, she married her partner, LJ Johnson.[20] In late July 2022, Akunowicz announced she was pregnant with her first child due in September 2022.[21] Her daughter, Rogue, was born September 23, 2022.[22]
- "Meet Top Chef Season 13's Cheftestants: Part 1". Top Chef. Bravo TV. November 25, 2015.
Birthday: September 17, 1978
- Canessa Jr., Kevin A. (December 15, 2015). "Kearny native competing for 'Top Chef'". The Observer. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- Canessa, Kevin (December 15, 2015). "Kearny native competing for 'Top Chef'". The Observer.
- Baskin, Kara (February 11, 2019). "A conversation with Karen Akunowicz of Fox & the Knife". Boston Globe.
- "Cambridge Culinary – Ignite your Passion". Retrieved 2022-05-29.
- Blumenthal, Rachel Leah (2019-07-10). "A South Boston Enoteca Is Among Eater's Best New Restaurants of 2019". Eater Boston. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- Cain, Jacqueline (May 7, 2018). "Karen Akunowicz Is the James Beard 2018 Best Chef: Northeast". Boston Magazine.
- Chang, Joanne; Akunowicz, Karen (2017). Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544836730.
- Hatic, Dana (2019-05-31). "Chef Karen Akunowicz Runs a 'Damn Good Restaurant,' Says One Critic". Eater Boston. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- "Food & Wine Names Fox & the Knife a Best New Restaurant". Boston Magazine. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- "USA Today readers named Fox & the Knife as one of America's Best New Restaurants". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- "Fox & the Knife: James Beard Semi-Finalist for Best New Restaurant". Caught in Southie. February 27, 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- "After Tumultuous Year, Karen Akunowicz Announces New Restaurant Devoted to Southern Italy". Food & Wine. May 25, 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- Kearnan, Scott (November 4, 2021). "First Look: Top Chef All Stars' Karen Akunowicz Opens Bar Volpe in South Boston This Weekend". Boston Magazine.
- Blumenthal, Rachel Leah (2021-05-27). "Fox & the Knife's Karen Akunowicz Will Open Another South Boston Restaurant". Eater Boston. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- Blumenthal, Rachel Leah (March 11, 2024). "Acclaimed Chef Karen Akunowicz Brings Northern Italian Food to Logan Airport". Boston Magazine.
- "Karen Akunowicz". Top Chef. Bravo TV. 19 October 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- Rosario, Alexandra Del (18 January 2022). "Guy Fieri's 'Tournament Of Champions' Renewed For Season 3 At Food Network". Deadline.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- "Gay Travel to Boston: Queer Top Chef Star Karen Akunowicz Opens New Restaurant". Gaytravel.com. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- Rajkarnikar, Preeta (March 15, 2023). "Top Chef Karen Akunowicz Baby Rogue Marie Akunowicz Johnson With Wife LJ Johnson . She used to work at Via Marta in Boston under Michael Schliemann where her nickname was "Chainsaw"". The Family Nation. Retrieved 5 May 2023.