Bjorn Somlo at Nudel (photo Daniel Schmolze)
(LENOX, Mass., March 6, 2012) – Bjorn Somlo, chef-owner of Nudel Restaurant in Lenox, was nominated one of the top 100 chefs for The People’s Best New Chef award for Food & Wine magazine. The dining public was invited to select The People’s Best New Chef, a program now in its second year, starting on Monday, March 5, 2012.
Somlo is the chef-owner of Nudel Restaurant, a creative American bistro, which takes its inspiration from the bounty provided by local farms and food producers of the Berkshire region. He is committed to using local, organic, ethical and natural ingredients whenever and as much as possible.
The People’s Best New Chef award, an extension of the Food & Wine Best New Chefs program, honors talented, up-and-coming innovators who have run their own kitchens for five years or fewer. The dining public will determine a winner via online vote at The People’s Best New Chef through March 11.
Melon Salad at Nudel
The field of 100 nominees for The People’s Best New Chef award includes ten chefs in each of ten regions across America. Somlo has been nominated as a top ten chef in New England. The chefs with the most votes in each of the regions will be named finalists and the most votes overall will be named The People’s Best New Chef on March 12. The winner will also be featured in the July issue of Food & Wine.
Somlo started out washing dishes at nearby pizza joint Baba Louie’s when he was 16 years old. Since then, he has worked in the kitchens of restaurants including John Andrews: A Farmhouse Restaurant (South Egremont), the erstwhile Verdura (Great Barrington) and Applewood (Brooklyn, N.Y.). He opened Nudel in August of 2009 and in 2011 was nominated Best Chef: Northeast by the James Beard Foundation. Somlo has been nominated again in 2012 for the same award.
Bonito Beans at Nudel
“I am excited that Nudel’s success is the result of gathering so many incredible farmers, artisans, purveyors and people under one roof,” said Somlo. “I look at this nomination as kudos for just how incredible the Berkshires are as a region and as a food community.”
Located at 37 Church Street in downtown Lenox, Mass., Nudel Restaurant serves dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 5:30 until 9:30. The restaurant is first-come, first-served and does not accept reservations. For more information, call 413.551.7183 or email info@nudelrestaurant.com. Follow Nudel on Twitter at or on Facebook.
Food & Wine is the modern, stylish, trend-spotting, talent-seeking epicurean brand. Created by American Express Publishing, the luxury-lifestyle authority, Food & Wine includes a monthly magazine with a circulation of 925,000, a books division and foodandwine.com.