Karen Akunowicz, Top Chef alum, cookbook author and the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Northeast 2018, will be leaving Myers + Chang at the end of the month to open her own place. Details are scant on when (“later this year” according to the Myers + Chang newsletter) or where (locally, it would seem since the author of the aforementioned newsletter plans to spend plenty of time there once it’s open), or what the food will be like but Akunowicz will be bringing her longtime sous chef, Tessa Bristol, with her.
Stepping up to fill the role at Christopher Myers’ and Joanne Chang’s award-winning indie diner in the South End: Chef de Cuisine Veo Robert and Flour Bakery Chef Ashley Lujares (who was also a sous chef at Myers + Chang) will be co-executive cheffing, come July. The pair are well-versed in the ways of Myers + Chang, though they each have their own culinary leanings. Veo, who’s got stints at Menton, Radius and Gracie’s on his resume, likes to explore Laotian flavors. Lujares, who was born into a food family (her grandmother owned a noodle company, her grandfather was a purveyor of the infamous Balut, and her aunt operated a meat stand at the local market), loves to put her own spin on the Filipino fare of her youth.
Stop by Myers + Chang to bid Akunowicz a fond farewell and to give Veo and Lujares a warm welcome. Call 617.542.5200 for a table.
