Karen Akunowicz

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Karen Akunowicz
Karen Akunowicz.jpg
Born (1978-09-17) September 17, 1978 (age 43)
Kearny, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst, Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Culinary career
Current restaurant(s)
  • Fox & the Knife (Boston)
    Bar Volpe (Boston)
Previous restaurant(s)
  • Myers + Chang, Oleana, Via Matta
Television show(s)
  • Top Chef (season 13)
    Top Chef (season 17)
Award(s) won
  • 2018 James Beard Award, Best Chef: Northeast

Karen Akunowicz (born September 17, 1978)[1] is an American chef based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Biography[]

Akunowicz was born and raised in Kearny, New Jersey, and graduated from Kearny High School in 1996. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst she moved to Boston. 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.[2][3]

Akunowicz worked at Boston restaurants Via Matta and Oleana before becoming the executive chef at Joanne Chang's Myers+Chang. She was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2015 and won the title of Best Chef: Northeast in 2018.[4]

In 2015, Akunowicz was a contestant on season 13 of Top Chef.[1]

Akunowicz co-authored a cookbook published in 2017, Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery.[5]

In 2019, Akunowicz opened her own restaurant, Fox & the Knife, an Italian restaurant in South Boston. In 2019, Fox and the Knife was named Best New Restaurant in America by Food and Wine Magazine and Eater International. In 2020, it was given the same honor by USA Today. Fox and the Knife was also nominated for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America in 2019 and 2020. Akunowicz was also a guest judge on Season 6 of Top Chef Canada in 2019.[3]

In 2020, Akunowicz competed on Top Chef: All-Stars L.A.[6]

In November 2021, Akunowicz opened her second restaurant, Bar Volpe, in South Boston. It focuses on Southern Italian cuisine.[7]

She identifies as a queer femme and her spouse, LJ Johnson, identifies as genderqueer and believes using these terms and the proper pronouns is extremely important.[8]

COVID-19 Safety Controversy[]

In January 2022, The Boston Globe published an article about an outbreak of COVID-19 cases that spread between Akunowicz's two South Boston restaurants, Fox & the Knife and the newly opened Bar Volpe.[9] The article reported that Akunowicz kept the two restaurants open despite a COVID-19 outbreak amongst employees in which multiple staffers ended up contracting the virus and worried they may have exposed diners. The incident led to employees filing several complaints about Akunowicz's restaurants with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and formally requesting that Akunowicz implement basic COVID safety measures such as "communication about potential exposures."

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Meet Top Chef Season 13's Cheftestants: Part 1". Top Chef. Bravo TV. November 25, 2015. Birthday: September 17, 1978
  2. ^ Canessa, Kevin (December 15, 2015). "Kearny native competing for 'Top Chef'". The Observer.
  3. ^ a b Baskin, Kara (February 11, 2019). "A conversation with Karen Akunowicz of Fox & the Knife". Boston Globe.
  4. ^ Cain, Jacqueline (May 7, 2018). "Karen Akunowicz Is the James Beard 2018 Best Chef: Northeast". Boston Magazine.
  5. ^ Chang, Joanne; Akunowicz, Karen (2017). Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544836730.
  6. ^ "Karen Akunowicz". Top Chef. Bravo TV. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  7. ^ Kearnan, Scott (November 4, 2021). "First Look: Top Chef All Stars' Karen Akunowicz Opens Bar Volpe in South Boston This Weekend". Boston Magazine.
  8. ^ "Gay Travel to Boston: Queer Top Chef Star Karen Akunowicz Opens New Restaurant". Gaytravel.com. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  9. ^ Koh, Elizabeth (January 4, 2022). "Already battered by pandemic, restaurants wrestle with Omicron outbreaks". Boston Globe.

External links[]

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