The People's Best New Chef: New England Contenders

At F&W, we name America’s 10 most brilliant up-and-coming chefs every year. Now we want to know who you think is the most talented new chef in America.

By F&W Editors

Updated on May 23, 2017

At F&W, we name America’s 10 most brilliant up-and-coming chefs every year. Now we want to know who you think is the most talented new chef in America.

Regions:
California, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, New York Area, Northwest & Pacific, Southeast, Southwest New England Chefs

Nemo Bolin
Carolyn Johnson
Jeffrey Lizotte
Matt Louis
Matthew MacCartney
Tim Maslow
Bjorn Somlo
Cara Stadler
Phillip Tang
Andrew Taylor & Mike Wiley

Photo © Corey Grayhorse Photography

Nemo Bolin

Restaurant: Cook & Brown Public House (Read a review)

Location: Providence

Why He's Amazing: Because he brings an earthy New England sensibility to the European gastropub concept.

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

background: Rubicon (/sites/default/files/an Francisco), Craigie Street Bistrot (Cambridge), No. 9 Park (Boston)

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 (/sites/default/files/oston), Arrows Restaurant (Ogunquit, ME), Rialto (Cambridge, MA)

Jeffrey Lizotte

Restaurant: ON20 (Read a review)

Location: Hartford, CT

Why He's Amazing: Because he's cooking exquisitely refined, European-influenced food on the 20th floor of an insurance company building in downtown Hartford.

Culinary School: Self-taught

background: La Bastide Saint-Antoine (/sites/default/files/rasse, France); La Tupina (Bordeaux); Le Bernardin, Danube (New York City); The Sweet Life Café (Oak Bluffs, MA)

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 (/sites/default/files/ountville, CA); Per Se (New York City); Wentworth by the Sea (New Castle, NH)

Matthew MacCartney

Restaurant: Jamestown Fish (Read a review)

Location: Jamestown, RI

Why He's Amazing: Because his fish-centric dishes take cues from classic French, Italian and American-immigrant cooking but they taste innovative and modern.

Culinary School: New York City College of Technology

background: Colicchio & Sons, Craft, Gramercy Tavern, Daniel (/sites/default/files/ew York City), Pasta Nostra (Norwalk, CT)

Tim Maslow

Restaurant: Strip-T's, Ribelle (Read a review)

Location: Watertown, MA; Brookline, 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 (/sites/default/files/ewtown, PA); Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssäm Bar (New York City)

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 (/sites/default/files/outh Egremont, MA), Applewood (Brooklyn, NY)

Cara Stadler

Restaurant: Tao Yuan (Read a review)

Location: Brunswick, ME

Why She's Amazing: Because at age 26, having already cooked for years in Europe and the Far East, she's opened an incredibly good Asian-inspired small-plates restaurant in coastal Maine.

Culinary School: Le Cordon Bleu (Paris)

background: 12 Chairs, Laris (/sites/default/files/hanghai); Gordon Ramsay au Trianon (Versailles, France)

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, MD)

background: Cashion's Eat Place (/sites/default/files/ashington, DC); Lumière (Newton, MA); Rialto, T.W. Food, Hungry Mother (Cambridge)

Andrew Taylor & Mike Wiley

Restaurant: Eventide Oyster Co., Hugo's (Read a review)

Location: Portland, ME

Why They're Amazing: Because their restaurants combine the best of old-school Maine oyster bars with updates like cleverly flavored sauces (kimchi ice) and fried oysters served in steamed buns, Korean style.

Culinary School: Both: Self-taught

background: Taylor: Daniel's Broiler, Rover's (/sites/default/files/eattle); Clio (Boston); Wiley: Elk Creek Lodge (Meeker, CO), Le Bosquet (Crested Butte, CO), Black Cat (Boulder, CO)

More on Andrew Taylor
More on Mike Wiley

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