(LENOX, Mass.) – Bjorn Somlo, chef-owner of Nudel Restaurant in Lenox, has been nominated one of the top 100 chefs for The People’s Best New Chef award for FOOD & WINE magazine. This is Somlo’s second nomination for an award honoring up-and-coming innovators who have run their own kitchens for five years or fewer. 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.

Somlo started out bussing tables at the county fair when he was 16 years old. Since then, he has worked in the kitchens of restaurants across the region. After living in New Orleans and New York City and working abroad, he returned home to the Berkshires. Somlo opened Nudel in August 2009 and has been nominated one time for Rising Star Chef and three times for Best Chef: Northeast by the James Beard Foundation, in addition to this second nomination for The People’s Best New Chef award for FOOD & WINE.

“I am honored to be nominated for the FOOD & WINE award and extend this recognition to the incredible farmers, artisans and purveyors I have the privilege of working with,” said Somlo. “Nudel’s success is the result of collaboration and partnerships in the Berkshires and Hudson Valley and I am so fortunate to play a part in this food community.”

Restaurants’ devotees will determine The People’s Best New Chef winner via online vote and through March 18.

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 18. The winner will also be featured in the July issue of FOOD & WINE, the same issue that profiles the Best New Chefs. (Note: Nominees for The People’s Best New Chef award remain eligible for a Best New Chef award.)

Visit The People’s Best New Chef to learn about the 100 nominees.

Located at 37 Church Street in downtown Lenox, Mass., Nudel Restaurant serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 until 9:30 p.m. (Closed Sunday and Monday.) The restaurant is first-come, first-served and does not accept reservations except for special events and certain holidays. 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; digital editions on the iPad, Kindle Fire and Nook Color; a books division; and a website, with updates on Twitter (@fandw) and Facebook reaching over 500,000 followers and fans.