Matthew Gaudet

Restaurant West Bridge (Read a review)

Location Cambridge, MA

Why He’s Amazing Because of his compelling twists on regional New England cooking: Think mussels with uni butter, and clam chowder with sunchokes and pork shoulder.

Culinary School The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts (Cambridge, MA)

Background Jean-Georges, Eleven Madison Park, Aquavit, Tocqueville (New York City); Aquitaine, Brasserie Jo (Boston)

Quintessential Dish “Egg in a jar”: slow-cooked duck eggs, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, potato puree and crispy duck skin

First Job Washing dishes, at age 15, to save money for a car.

Beer of Choice Dale’s Pale Ale

On Living and Cooking In NYC “I missed the smaller ambience of Boston, [which] feels like a village compared with New York. If it wasn’t for Brooklyn, I probably would have lost my mind. It’s how we kind of see Cambridge—[as] the borough on the other side of the river.”

Historic Space West Bridge’s industrial design is a nod to the building’s past: It once housed the Boston Woven Hose and Rubber Company, which manufactured fire hoses in the 1880s.

Carolyn Johnson

Restaurant 80 Thoreau (Read a review)

Location Concord, MA

Why She’s Amazing Because her French-inspired, farm-driven cooking is simple yet extraordinarily delicious.

Culinary School Self-taught

Background Icarus (Boston), Arrows Restaurant (Ogunquit, ME), Rialto (Cambridge, MA)

Quintessential Dish Crisp gnocchi with rabbit ragù, bacon and pearl onions

How She Learned To Cook “Definitely through on-the-job training and personal research. I read a lot, especially comprehensive technique books.”

What She Does When She Isn’t Cooking Travels, hikes, brews beer

College Major Economics, at Wellesley College in Massachusetts

Cooking with the Seasons For two weeks in August, Johnson features a corn-and-tomatoes tasting menu that includes dishes like pan-roasted hake with charred cherry tomatoes and corn puree. For dessert: warm corn pudding with blueberries, lemon verbena ice cream and caramel popcorn.

Matt Louis

Restaurant Moxy (Read a review)

Location Portsmouth, NH

Why He’s Amazing Because he makes incredible Spanish-style tapas using seasonal New England ingredients.

Culinary School The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY)

Background Bouchon, The French Laundry (Yountville, CA); Per Se (New York City); Wentworth by the Sea (New Castle, NH)

Quintessential Dish Apple cider-lacquered pork belly with grilled Maine cherry tomatoes and marinated watermelon

How He Got Into Professional Cooking “My father was a general manager at a hotel and I ended up there a lot as a child, spending a lot of time in the kitchen when I was very young. The chef there brought me to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) when I was 15. When I saw it, it was pretty much the deciding factor.”

What Drives The Food at Moxy “One: the history and culture of our area; two: our own twists on iconic tapas dishes; three: what the local farmers are growing. Everything fits into at least one of these categories, if not more than one.”

On Auditioning at The French Laundry “It was extremely hard. It was on the flight home, when my head had cleared some, I immediately knew that I had to work there. All the reasons it was so hard were all the reasons I needed to be there.”

Tim Maslow

Restaurant Strip-T’s (Read a review)

Location Watertown, MA

Why He’s Amazing Because he’s turned his family’s sandwich shop into a destination for quirky, umami-packed comfort food.

Culinary School The French Culinary Institute (New York City)

Background Brick Hotel (Newtown, PA); Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssäm Bar (New York City)

Quintessential Dish Chicken wings with Moxie sauce

What’s Moxie? A bittersweet New England soda; Maslow also adds the Indonesian chile paste sambal oelek to his chicken-wing sauce.

On Revamping The Family Business “Growing up, I spent every single summer and holiday break working in my dad’s restaurant, so it kind of comes full circle. I came in and turned the place upside down. It was a regime change. Believe it or not, two people from the original restaurant are still here—three, if you include my dad.”

For the Old-Timers “I kept one dish from the old menu, because I grew up eating it: the Caesar salad. It’s the best I’ve ever had.”

Bjorn Somlo

Restaurant Nudel (Read a review)

Location Lenox, MA

Why He’s Amazing Because he’s serving terrific, sustainable food in a way that is simple and accessible, with all entrées at the same price.

Culinary School Self-taught

Background John Andrews (South Egremont, MA), Applewood (Brooklyn, NY)

Quintessential Dish Chicken skin tacos with almond romesco

How He Got Into The Food Business Somlo started out washing dishes at a nearby pizza joint, Baba Louie’s, when he was 16.

DIY Design Somlo and his father made the benches, bar and counters for Nudel themselves, from recycled church pews.

Benjamin Sukle

Restaurant The Dorrance (Read a review)

Location Providence, RI

Why He’s Amazing Because he’s bringing the ultra-locavore values he learned at Copenhagen’s Noma to New England, honoring and elevating Rhode Island ingredients.

Culinary School Johnson & Wales University (Providence)

Background Internship at Noma (Copenhagen); La Laiterie (Providence), BlackSalt (Washington, DC), Gottlieb’s Restaurant & Dessert Bar (Savannah, GA)

Quintessential Dish Roast dry-aged duck breast with kohlrabi and quince puree

What He Learned At Noma “Not being afraid to just put three things on a plate, like Noma’s carrot course. It’s just a carrot, but when you taste it, the flavor is absolutely insane.”

First Job Loading sandwich buns into the toaster at a Red Robin fast-food burger restaurant. “It was definitely a job only a 16-year-old could do. I didn’t know any better.”

Phillip Tang

Restaurant East by Northeast (Read a review)

Location Cambridge, MA

Why He’s Amazing Because he’s applying the locavore ethos to his inspired Chinese cooking.

Culinary School L’Academie de Cuisine (Gaithersburg, MA)

Background Cashion’s Eat Place (Washington, DC); Lumière (Newton, MA); Rialto, T.W. Food, Hungry Mother (Cambridge, MA)

Quintessential Dish Homemade thick-cut noodles with pork ragout, Napa cabbage, celery root, marinated sunchokes and chile vinegar

On Being Compared To David Chang “Hey, if it gets people in the door...”

Culinary Family “My granduncle had a restaurant in Taiwan, and my grandfather had a restaurant in Ithaca, New York—he was a great chef in his own right. Many of the recipes at East by Northeast are family recipes with my own spin on them.”

Greatest Influence His family’s northern Chinese restaurant, A&J, in Annandale, Virginia. “This is the food that shaped my culinary career and is my strongest inspiration. Noodles, dumplings and refreshing small plates are the food I love to eat and cook.”

Pork Obsession “Pork is our main protein in China, except for western China, where they have a lot of dishes with lamb. I love the technical part of butchering, dealing with a whole animal, the full circle, and figuring out how to use every part. [Recently,] I used my pig’s ears in a salad-a pig’s ear terrine. Not superpopular, but the people who loved it loved it a lot.”

Joel Viehland

Restaurant Community Table (Read a review)

Location Washington, CT

Why He’s Amazing Because he chooses simplicity over overwrought dishes, letting the bright flavors of his locally sourced ingredients shine.

Culinary School Johnson & Wales University (Providence)

Background Noma (Copenhagen); Bayona, Emeril’s, Herbsaint Bar and Restaurant (New Orleans); Gramercy Tavern (New York City)

Quintessential Dish Stonington scallops with buttered leeks and baby kale

Crucial Piece of Furniture The restaurant is named after the 12-seat communal table in the dining room, made from a black walnut tree that fell 30 years ago.

Best Known For His relentless commitment to sustainability