Here Are the 2016 Young Guns Winners From Greater Boston

Every year, Eater recognizes a stellar group of rising talent in the restaurant industry. Last night in Los Angeles, the 2016 class of Eater Young Guns gathered to celebrate their achievements. Check out the full list of Young Guns winners on Eater.com, or stay right here to get to know the representatives from the Greater Boston area who were commended for their innovation in the field.

Katie Chudy

Irene Li

For the last four years, Li and her siblings have built Mei Mei into a staple of the Boston area. The food truck, brick-and-mortar, and now the satellite shipping container operation are all thriving, thanks in large part to Li’s dedication to menu innovation and ethical sourcing of local ingredients. She’s a chef and an administrator, and even in the busy summer months where Mei Mei can sometimes cater four weddings a weekend, Li is constantly looking for ways to make the business more efficient and to keep the staff functioning like a family. Read more.

Katie Chudy

Katrina Jazayeri

With a background in social justice, the owner of Union Square’s Juliet uses her experience to inform the management of the restaurant. She runs Juliet on a service-included payment model that includes an employee profit-sharing plan, and she could talk for days about the power the food industry has to impact people’s lives for the better. For her, jobs at Juliet are more than just jobs — they’re pipelines to careers in the industry. Read more.

Courtesy Laura Higgins-Baltzley

Laura Higgins-Baltzley

Formerly of The 41-70 and now turning her attention to The Buffalo Jump, Higgins-Baltzley represents the Cape in this year’s class of Young Guns. She grew up in the area and has returned to take full advantage of its native ingredients to craft menus inspired by the Cape’s Native American, Portuguese, and English history. Higgins-Baltzley forages for ingredients, grows her own, and has built relationships with local farms. She is also a new mother and has an unwavering dedication to showcasing the wealth of ingredients the Cape has to offer in the form of elegant and inspiring dishes. Read more.