KAREN AKUNOWICZ
Karen Akunowicz was a ‘cheftestant’ on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” but she’s far from a beginner. She is a two-time James Beard nominee for Best Chef Northeast. Akunowicz has been honing her craft for years—from studying at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, to helping create the Beehive restaurant, to becoming a chef in Italy, and the sous chef at Oleana Restaurant in Cambridge. Her current gig is executive chef/partner at Myers & Chang in Boston. Admirably, Akunowicz uses her position to give back. Her Fresh Roots Culinary Program at UTEC, an agency for at-risk youth, allowed her to teach young people about cooking and assist them in finding jobs, and she was the Culinary Chair for PFLAG’s most recent fundraiser. She sees her time on TV as another way she’s been able to help the younger generation. “It was important to me to be out as a queer femme on this season of ‘Top Chef.’ TV remains such a large, visible platform, and I wanted queer kids and young girls to see a version of themselves in the media.” –GH
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