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Fortune
Fortune
Dave Smith

The unlikely rise of Karyn Tomlinson, who traveled to France in her 20s to learn how to cook and just won the culinary world's most prestigious award

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Chef Karyn Tomlinson (Credit: Karyn Tomlinson)
  • Karyn Tomlinson is sitting atop the culinary world right now after winning the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest. She sat down with Fortune to discuss her journey to becoming a chef, battling imposter syndrome in the kitchen, and how she successfully opened a restaurant that overcame pandemic-era hurdles to become a community fixture.

When Karyn Tomlinson took the stage at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House this June to accept the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest, she wore a piece of family history: a floor-length coral dress her grandmother once donned as the Dassel Corn Queen in 1941. It was a fitting tribute for a chef whose culinary philosophy is deeply rooted in heritage, hospitality, and the Midwest.

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