MINNEAPOLIS — Two Minnesota chefs and one Minneapolis restaurant are finalists for prestigious James Beard Awards.
The final list was unveiled Wednesday and it included chefs Ann Ahmed and Christina Nguyen in the Best Chef: Midwest category, along with Minneapolis' Oro by Nixta in the Best New Restaurant category.
Ahmed, chef and owner of Khâluna, was a semifinalist for the regional award last year, while Nguyen was a finalist in 2019 and 2020 as a chef and owner of Hai Hai.
In January, KARE 11's Gordon Severson spoke with the owners of Oro by Nixta, Kate and Gustavo Romero, who said they never imagined their little Mexican restaurant in northeast Minneapolis would be nominated for a national award.
"We're very grateful," said Gustavo.
The idea came during the pandemic, when both had jobs at other local restaurants. They said when things got really tough, they looked for other ways to help pay the bills.
"We just did what we could," said Kate.
"... which was tortillas," added Gustavo.
The tortillas caught on, so they tried out ready-made meals and takeout. Eventually, they decided to open a small restaurant, featuring authentic ingredients — and lots of corn. That's where their company's name comes from, and it's the message behind these words hanging in their dining room.
"Without corn we have no country."
The duo brings corn in straight from Mexico, using several different kinds in their recipes.
While the Romeros say it's all very exciting, they say they really aren't prepared for what might happen next.
"It's only been a couple hours," said Kate.
"That was the first thing we thought about was like, 'What's going to happen now?'"
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