Barbara Lynch (restaurateur)
Barbara Lynch is an American restaurateur. In 2017, she was included in Time magazine's "Top 100 Most Influential People of the Year" for her contributions in the culinary world and her focus on local wealth creation through agronomy.
Barbara Lynch
In 2014, she was the second woman to be awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurateur, which honors "a working restaurateur who sets high national standards in restaurant operations and ownership."[1][2]
Early life[edit]
Lynch grew up in South Boston during the era of desegregation busing. She was the youngest of six children raised by a single mother.[3] At 13, she stole an MBTA bus.[3]
That same year, she got her first kitchen job — making meals for the priests in the rectory of the church across from her family's home.[3] It was there, along with inspiration from a home economics teacher, that led her to choose a career as a chef.[4] Lynch did not complete high school.[5][6] "I figured if I could cook, I’d have a job for the rest of my life."[3]
Lynch started as a waitress at Boston's St. Botolph Club at age 15, which was then led by chef Mario Bonello.[7][3]
Awards and honors[edit]
Lynch has won James Beard Awards for who's who of food & beverage in America in 2013, the award for outstanding wine program (No. 9 Park) in 2012, and best chef in the Northeast (No. 9 Park) in 2003.[1][12]
After Lynch opened No. 9 Park, the restaurant was named one of the “Top 25 New Restaurants in America” by Bon Appétit and “Best New Restaurant” by Food & Wine.[4]
She is the sole female Relais & Châteaux grand chef in North America.[2]
In 2009, she won the Amelia Earhart Award.[13]
Her first cookbook, Stir: Mixing It Up in The Italian Tradition, received a Gourmand Award for Best Chef Cookbook in the US in 2009.[13] Lynch made the 2017 Time magazine's "Top 100 Most Influential People of the Year." In April 2017, Lynch released a memoir titled "Out of Line, A Life playing with Fire".[14]
Personal life[edit]
Lynch is a resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts.[15] She is a first cousin of Stephen Lynch, the U.S. House of Representative from Massachusetts.[10]