Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Akunowicz.
Karen is the Executive Chef and Partner at Myers+Chang in Boston, MA.
A four time (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) James Beard Nominee for Best Chef Northeast, she competed and was a fan favorite on Bravo TV’s Emmy nominated show “Top Chef” as well as the Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay”.
She is the co-author of Myers+Chang at Home (Houghton Mifflin 2017) and was called one of the “21 Badass Women Changing the Food Word” by Marie Claire Magazine.
She started her career as a cook at the beloved Ten Tables restaurant in Jamaica Plain. She later fell in love with Italian food, cooking at Via Matta in Boston’s Back Bay where she met restaurateur Christopher Myers.
She lived and cooked in Modena, Italy for a year, before returning to the states to work for Ana Sortun and Cassie Piuma as the Sous Chef at Oleana Restaurant in Cambridge. There she studied the powerful spice driven cuisine of the Middle East and embraced the true farm to table mentality of the restaurant.
Karen writes lifestyle articles and recipes for Prowder.com and is proud to be a No Kid Hungry Chef, working with the organization Share our Strength to eradicate childhood hunger.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course not. The restaurant industry is challenging in and of itself, with long hours and working nights and weekends. It is a bit of a personal sacrifice, although one I would choose again. We have seen a struggle in the last few years to hire staff, this has been so tough. I spend a good deal of time just trying to keep fully staffed with good cooks and provide a positive professional environment for them to work in.
Please tell us about Myers+Chang.
At Myers + Chang, we focus on sourcing fresh, beautiful, local-when-possible ingredients, using lighter sauces, and giving you either fun and innovative takes on classic dishes, or creating new dishes that stay true to the flavors of the region. We are inspired by Taiwanese soul food and Southeast Asian street food, all done with a great deal of care. It is a personal, sometimes loose interpretation, to be sure, but our criteria are simple: everything we make must be fresh, delicious, and addictive. We are passionate about sharing our love of this food with you.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Every summer we went to the Shore with my family. Those are some of my fondest memories. Walking on the boardwalk, eating funnel cake. Spending the day at the beach and the afternoon at the hotel pool and hitting the Seashell ice cream parlor at night.
Contact Info:
- Email: kakunowicz@myersandchang.com
- Instagram: @karencake
- Facebook: chef karen akunowicz
- Twitter: @kakunowicz
Image Credit:
Matt Kurkowski
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