Karen Akunowicz

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

Karen Akunowicz
Born (1978-09-17) September 17, 1978
Kearny, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst, Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Culinary career

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, MA. 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 in many restaurants across Boston, including Via Matta and Oleana, before gaining notoriety as the executive chef at Joanne Chang's Myers+Chang. She was first 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. As well as being named Best New Restaurant in America by these three magazines, Fox and the Knife was nominated for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America twice in a row 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]

References
  1. "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. 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.
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