A Minnesota rising star When I shared details of the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards in last week's Counter Intelligence, what I didn't know is that one of the evening's top winners has deep Minnesota roots.
Gavin Kaysen, son of David and Nancy Kaysen of Bloomington -- and a graduate of the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield -- was the winner of the coveted Rising Star Chef of the Year award, an honor handed to a chef age 30 or younger who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to make a significant impact on the industry in years to come. (Kaysen is in very good company, as past winners include Todd English, Marcus Samuelsson and Grant Achatz.)
The 29-year-old executive chef at Cafe Boulud in New York City attended the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt., and has a résumé peppered with highly rated restaurants in Napa Valley, Calif.; London, England, and Lausanne, Switzerland. Last year, while he was working at El Bizcocho in San Diego, Kaysen was named one of Food & Wine magazine's best new chefs. Not bad for a guy whose first restaurant job was making Veggie Delites at a Subway in Bloomington.
In his acceptance speech, Kaysen got one of the evening's biggest laughs when he thanked his parents -- who were in the black-tie audience at New York City's Avery Fisher Hall -- for their nonexistent cooking skills, which forced him to pick up his own.
"His speech was right on the mark," said proud father David Kaysen. "Nancy and I are not 'talented' in the kitchen, but if that got him to this spot, it seems to have helped."
Kid-friendly? After examining 50 options, Parents magazine has just announced its 10 top choices for best chain restaurant dining experiences. They include Chili's Grill & Bar, Red Robin, the Old Spaghetti Factory, P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Denny's. Yeah, no reason to question the nation's childhood obesity epidemic after reading that nutritionally suspect endorsement. In what I hope is a massive understatement, editor-in-chief Sally Lee added, "We are pleased to see that restaurant chains are offering healthier options for the whole family, but many can still do better."
