2025 James Beard Best New Restaurant Award winners Jeanie Janas Ritter and Chef Adam Ritter on combining French techniques with Minnesota ingredients and risking everything to open a restaurant where others went bust

Classically trained chefs Jeanie Janas Ritter and Adam Ritter shared a culinary journey working at great and Michelin-starred restaurants throughout the US and internationally before coming back to their midwestern roots and working in Minneapolis, first for someone else, then taking the risk of opening a place of their own. Their venture, Bûcheron, French for lumberjack, was an instant hit, embracing the French bistronomy movement that marries fine dining with comfortable surroundings. And they embrace a further marriage—French techniques and Minnesota ingredients in creating a menu that features such standouts as Fois gras, venison tartare, even eel. And yes, they were recently named the Best New Restaurant in America in the 2025 James Beard Awards.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices