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Lenox Chef Nominated for National Award
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LENOX, Mass. — Bjorn Somlo, chef-owner of Nudel Restaurant, has been nominated one of the top 100 inventive chefs for The People's Best New Chef award for Food and Wine magazine.
This is Somlo's third nomination for an award honoring up-and-coming innovators who have run their own kitchens for five years or fewer.
Somlo is the chef-owner of Nudel Restaurant, a creative American bistro on Church Street, which takes its inspiration from the bounty provided by local farms and food producers of the Berkshire region. He is committed to using local, organic, ethical and natural ingredients whenever and as much as possible.
Somlo started out bussing tables at the county fair when he was 16 years old. Since then, he has worked in the kitchens of restaurants across the region. After living in New Orleans and New York City and working abroad, he returned home to the Berkshires. Somlo opened Nudel in August of 2009 and has been nominated one time for Rising Star Chef and three times for Best Chef: Northeast by the James Beard Foundation.
"Nudel's success is the result of collaboration and partnerships in the Berkshires and Hudson Valley and I am so fortunate to play a part in this food community," Somlo said. "I am honored to be nominated for this Food and Wine award and extend my recognition to the incredible farmers, artisans and purveyors I have the privilege of working with."
Restaurants' devotees will determine The People’s Best New Chef winner by voting here beginning today at 10 a.m. and continuing through March 31 at 5 p.m.
Storey Publishing Celebrates 'Soup Night'
 Guests worked their way down the soup line at Mass MoCA in celebration of Storey Publishing's release of 'Soup Night.' |
 Vegetable Soup with Andouille Sausage |
Berkshire Food Festival Serves Up Local Fare on Sunday
.jpg) Hundreds attended last year's Food Festival to sample local fare. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — North Adams plays host to the 12th annual Berkshire Food Festival on Sunday, Sept. 15, from noon to 4 on Main Street.
The event features the cuisine of top area restaurants along with micro-brewed beer, wine, cider and mead tastings. Attendees can also enjoy an eclectic mix of live music from the JP Murphy Band and Patrick Gray Jr.
The north side of Main Street will be closed to motor vehicle traffic, and large festival tents will be erected to shade vendors and patrons. The day's fare will satisfy the traditional as well as the adventurous palate; there will be many samples from which to choose.
Attendees can buy tickets, valued at $1 each, and redeem them for food and beverage items priced in the $1 to $5 range. The festival will also be raffling off baskets of gift certificates from participating eateries. These tickets can be purchased at the event.
Participating restaurants include:
Boston Sea Foods, North Adams
Christo's Famous Pizza, North Adams
Chef's Hat, Williamstown
Desperados, North Adams
Gramercy Bistro, North Adams
How We Roll, Pittsfield
Leslie's Humble Pie, Valatie, N.Y.
Lucia's Latin Kitchen, Pittsfield
MadJacks BBQ, Pittsfield
Mediterra, North Adams
Mikey Joe's, North Adams
Spice Root Modern Indian Cuisine, Williamstown
This year's beer/wine/cider vendors include:
Artesian Beverage Cooperative, Greenfield
Bantam Cider, Cambridge
Berkshire Brewing Co., South Deerfield
Headwater Cider, Hawley
Kelly's Package Store, Dalton
Madison Brewing Co., Bennington, Vt.
Berkshire Food Festival is sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union. Additional sponsors include Aladco Linen Services and Allied Waste.
For more information: www.ExploreNorthAdams.com or the North Adams Office of Tourism at 413-664-6180 or tourism@northadams-ma.gov.
Nudel Chef-Owner Nominated for Top 100 Chef
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Bjorn Somlo of Nudel has earned a second nomination for best new chef. |
LENOX, Mass. — Bjorn Somlo, chef-owner of Nudel Restaurant, has been nominated one of the top 100 chefs for The People's Best New Chef award for Food & Wine magazine.
This is Somlo's second nomination for an award honoring up-and-coming innovators who have run their own kitchens for five years or fewer.
Restaurant devotees will determine The People's Best New Chef winner by voting online here through March 18.
His bistro takes its inspiration from the bounty provided by local farms and food producers of the Berkshire region. He is committed to using local, organic, ethical and natural ingredients whenever and as much as possible.
Somlo started out bussing tables at the county fair when he was 16 years old. Since then, he has worked in the kitchens of restaurants across the region. After living in New Orleans and New York City and working abroad, he returned home to the Berkshires. Somlo opened Nudel in August 2009 and has been nominated one time for Rising Star Chef and three times for Best Chef: Northeast by the James Beard Foundation, in addition to this second nomination for The People's Best New Chef award for Food & Wine magazine.
"I am honored to be nominated for the Food & Wine award and extend this recognition to the incredible farmers, artisans and purveyors I have the privilege of working with," said Somlo. "Nudel's success is the result of collaboration and partnerships in the Berkshires and Hudson Valley and I am so fortunate to play a part in this food community."
The field of 100 nominees for The People's Best New Chef award includes 10 chefs in each of 10 regions across America. Somlo has been nominated as a top 10 chef in New England. The chefs with the most votes in each of the regions will be named finalists and the most votes overall will be named The People's Best New Chef on March 18. The winner will also be featured in the July issue of Food & Wine, the same issue that profiles the Best New Chefs.
Nudel is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 until 9:30 p.m., no reservations required. For more information: 413-551-7183 or info@nudelrestaurant.com.
Berkshire Grown Hosting March Maple Dinner
LENOX, Mass. — A slate of culinary experts with local ties will display their skills using New England's first harvest of the year — maple syrup.
Berkshire Grown holds its annual March Maple Dinner on March 18 at Cranwell Resort to benefit the organization and Share the Bounty, which buys shares in local farms for food pantries.
This year's March Maple Dinner chefs cut their cooking teeth at either Wheatleigh or Blantyre in Lenox and Stockbridge. Many of these young chefs went on to other triumphs — Brian Young is now executive chef at Tavern on the Green in New York City; Hung Huynh, winner of "Top Chef Season 3," is now executive chef at The General, also in New York City.
Their hearts, however, have remained in the Berkshires and this is the first time all seven will gather to produce a meal in support of Berkshire Grown.
The maple-inspired five-course dinner features these creative chefs:
Jeffrey Thompson, executive chef at Wheatleigh
Brian Young, former cook at Wheatleigh and executive chef at Tavern on the Green
Hung Huynh, former cook at Wheatleigh, "Top Chef" winner and executive chef at The General
Chris Brooks, former executive chef at Blantyre, current owner of The Chef at Your Table catering company and chef at Austin Riggs
Michael Roller, former executive chef of Blantyre and current owner of Savory Harvest Catering
Shirl Gard, former pastry chef at Wheatleigh and current pastry chef at The Old Inn On The Green
Host chef Carl Deluce, executive chef at Cranwell Resort
The event also features of live auction for a wine dinner for eight at The Old Inn on the Green, and a one-week stay at Casa Miel, a home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
The evening begins at 6 with hors d'oeuvres and a complimentary tasting of beverages by Barrington Brewery, Berkshire Mountain Distillers & M.S. Walker Wines with a cash bar available. Dinner follows at 7 with courses featuring maple syrup from local farms.
Tickets, by reservation only, are $100 for Berkshire Grown members, $125 for non-members. For reservations call the Berkshire Grown office at 413-528-0041.
Stephanie Farrington of