Chef-Owner, Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza, and Young Joni |Minneapolis, MN

Ann Kim is the chef-owner of Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza, Young Joni and Sooki & Mimi, located in Minneapolis. As a Korean immigrant raised in Apple Valley, Minnesota, Ann attributes her culinary palate and love of cooking to her mother and grandmother, from whom she learned to make traditional Korean staples such as doenjang, gochujang and kimchi. In 2010 Ann opened Pizzeria Lola, a woodfire pizzeria that has been lauded both locally and nationally. Her second restaurant, Hello Pizza, was inspired by her college days in New York City, where sustenance came in the form of a daily slice. Young Joni, which debuted in 2016, is well known for its eclectic, genre-bending menu of signature pizzas and other wood-fired dishes. In 2017, the Minneapolis Star Tribune named it Restaurant of the Year, and it has since topped numerous “best of” lists, including GQ's Best New Restaurants in America and Esquire’s Best Bars in America. In 2019, Ann became the first woman and person of color from Minneapolis to receive the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest, which celebrated her vision and cookery at Young Joni. Her latest destination, Sooki & Mimi, opened in February 2021 and is fueled by a passion for handmade tortillas and profound respect for nixtamal. In addition to her role as chef-owner of four distinctive Minneapolis-based restaurants, Ann drives the culinary vision for Kyndred Hearth, the flagship restaurant at Omni Viking Lakes Hotel, a partnership between Omni Hotels and the Minnesota Vikings. Ann’s work has been widely featured in news outlets such as The New York Times, Vogue, Martha Stewart Living, Wine Enthusiast, Forbes, Food & Wine, Wall Street Journal, Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” CBS Saturday’s “The Dish," and "The Splendid Table.” (Minneapolis, MN) @annbkool