Featuring exciting new partnerships with Chefs Erik Anderson, Jorge Guzmán, Tim McKee, Sean Sherman, and other special guests.
MINNEAPOLIS (Aug 16 2023)— The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) announced an exciting new slate of art-inspired dining experiences as part of its Mia After Dark series. Mia After Dark pairs Mia’s incredible collection with exceptional food and beverage experiences in the intimate setting of the museum’s galleries. From September through December, a featured guest chef will join Mia’s long standing partner James Beard Award-Nominated Chef Jamie Malone each month to create a unique slate of offerings. In addition, each guest chef of the new series will share a recipe featured in their special menu exclusively on Mia’s website. Tickets range in cost from $375 to $475 and are available now. Every purchase supports the museum’s mission.
On September 6, guest Chef Erik Anderson will partner with Malone to create a four-course meal inspired by Mia’s larger-than-life “Before the Bullfight” by Joaquin Sorolla, on view in Mia’s Impressionist galleries. Anderson, a two-star Michelin chef, has helmed and worked at some of the most notable restaurants in the Twin Cities, the U.S., and the world, including the likes of Noma, The French Laundry, Grand Cafe, Catbird Seat and Coi, earning multiple Michelin stars and boundless praise along the way.
Chef Jorge Guzmán of Petite Leon joins Malone on October 17. Yucatán raised, Mexican born, award-winning chef Guzmán’s fondest memories have always revolved around food, family and always together. Nothing gives him greater joy than watching a table full of people laughing and carrying on over a great meal. Guzmán has been nominated multiple times by the James Beard Foundation, most recently in 2022, for “Best Chef Midwest,” and Pettie Leon was named one of the “50 restaurants we are most excited about” by the New York Times in 2022.
Chef Tim McKee will join Malone on November 15. Press have described him as “the state’s most accomplished Chef,” christening him the modern “Godfather of Twin Cities Cuisine.” McKee was the first Minnesota chef to earn the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef Midwest. He has created eight signature restaurants in the Twin Cities, including Solera, Sea Change, Octo fishbar, and the most critically acclaimed restaurant in Minnesota history, La Belle Vie.
On November 29, Chef Sean Sherman of Owamni and the Indigenous Food Lab will collaborate with Malone on a meal inspired by Inspired by Mia’s upcoming special exhibition “In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now.” Owamni was awarded the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America in 2022, and Sherman has received numerous awards, including a 2018 James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook, and a 2019 James Beard Leadership Award. Sherman is a 2023 Julia Child Award recipient, and was named Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023.
A final, surprise guest chef will complete the series for the year in December with a menu based on Mia’s endlessly inspiring collection.
About Art & Dining After Dark
Art & Dining After Dark is a unique private dining experience set within the museum’s galleries, with themes inspired by Mia’s special exhibitions. Enjoy a curated dinner from a team of acclaimed culinary professionals at these exceptional private events.
About Erik Anderson
Chef Erik Anderson embarked on his career in 2006 at Chef Thomas Keller’s three Michelin-starred restaurant, The French Laundry. Anderson then moved to Minneapolis for a sous chef position at Auriga under Doug Flicker, the chef he now considers his mentor. In 2009, Anderson brought his creativity to Tim McKee’s Sea Change where he worked as chef de cuisine building menus focused on sustainable seafood and seasonal ingredients. Anderson’s cooking at Sea Change garnered nationwide attention and earned him a James Beard Foundation Award nomination and the title of Food & Wine Magazine “People’s Best New Chef Midwest” finalist.
After staging at the prestigious Noma restaurant, Anderson relocated to Nashville to helm the kitchen at The Catbird Seat, considered one of the country’s most ground-breaking restaurants. In 2012, Anderson was named one of Food & Wine’s “Best New Chefs.” The following year, the magazine bestowed him with the additional honor of being named “Best New Chef All Star,” where a talent from each class of the past 25 years was highlighted.
In addition to being featured in the NY Times and Mentions in Time Magazine, Anderson has also appeared on Bizarre Food with Andrew Zimmern, PBS Series The Mind of a Chef, and Vice’s Munchies. Anderson earned two Michelin stars as the executive chef of Coi in San Francisco, after which he served as the opening chef of Truss at the Four Seasons in Napa Valley.
Erik is currently working as the Executive chef for Barndiva, a one Michelin star restaurant in Healdsburg California, and is working on opening an as of yet to be named fine dining restaurant in Calistoga, CA.
About Jorge Guzmán
Owner and Chef Jorge Guzmán brings a breadth of intercultural influence and flavorful imagination to his newest restaurant, Petite León, in South Minneapolis, MN. Channeling his Mexican heritage, the James Beard finalist presents a casual yet sophisticated menu touching upon the importance of embracing new cuisines and cultures.
After working as the sous chef and chef de cuisine for several neighborhood restaurants, including Redstone American Grill, Tejas, and Corner Table Restaurant, Guzmán joined Surly Brewing Co. in 2014 as the executive chef–overseeing the culinary team and menu planning for the company’s four food outlets. For the next three years, he led the team through several honors, including being named a Best New Restaurant by Food & Wine in 2016. Guzmán also received the recognition of being named the 2015 Chef of the Year by Star Tribune, the winner of Cochon555 for Minneapolis in 2016, semifinalist for James Beard Best Chef: Midwest in 2016, and nominee for James Beard Best Chef: Midwest 2017.
Inspired to keep contributing to Minneapolis’ burgeoning culinary scene, Guzman opened Petite León in October of 2020. Guzmán was once again nominated by the James Beard Foundation in 2022 for “Best Chef Midwest,” and was named one of the “50 restaurants we are most excited about “by the New York Times in 2022.
About Tim McKee
Perhaps no other chef has single-handedly done more to shape and foster the current Twin Cities dining scene than Tim McKee. McKee made history in 2009 as the first Minnesota chef to earn the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef Midwest. His French-Mediterranean restaurant La Belle Vie was a 4-star dining destination and the Twin Cities’ undisputed standard bearer for fine dining for almost two decades. McKee’s second restaurant, Solera, debuted to comparable critical acclaim. He created the Twin Cities’ first sustainable seafood restaurant when he opened Sea Change inside the Guthrie Theatre. He followed that up with Masu Sushi and Robata, the region’s first sustainable sushi restaurant, and then a third sustainable seafood restaurant, Octo fishbar.
Beyond the bounds of traditional restaurant development, McKee also has conceived and led a variety of culinary collaborations that enhance the food community in fresh new ways. In 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, he made headlines when he envisioned and brought together more than a dozen prominent chefs, including Yia Vang, Jack Riebel, and Justin Sutherland to create meal kits showcasing local ingredients produced by the small business artisans of Kieran Folliard’s food incubator, the Food Building. McKee is continually seeking out ways to strengthen Minneapolis-St. Paul’s food scene – innovating, collaborating and pushing boundaries to elevate its reputation not only locally, but also nationally.
About Sean Sherman
A member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, Chef Sean Sherman focuses on the revitalization and evolution of Indigenous foods systems throughout North America. Through his activism and advocacy, Sherman is helping to reclaim and celebrate the rich culinary heritage of Indigenous communities around the world.
Sherman has dedicated his career to supporting and promoting Indigenous food systems and Native food sovereignty. His goal is to make Indigenous foods more accessible to as many communities as possible through the non-profit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS) and its Indigenous Food Lab professional Indigenous kitchen and training center. Working to address the economic and health crises affecting Native communities by re-establishing Native foodways, NĀTIFS imagines a new North American food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises.
Sherman has been the recipient of a 2015 First Peoples Fund Fellowship, 2018 Bush Foundation Fellowship, National Center’s 2018 First American Entrepreneurship Award, 2018 James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook, and a 2019 James Beard Leadership Award. Sherman was a Julia Child Award recipient in 2023, and named one of the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2023.
In 2021, Sherman opened Minnesota’s first full service Indigenous restaurant, Owamni, which received the 2022 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America on top of numerous awards nationwide.
About Jamie Malone
Jamie Malone has always had a life that revolved around food. She grew up cooking and baking bread with her dad in St. Paul. Before receiving her culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu, Chef Malone traveled and studied extensively in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and Europe, immersing herself in each region’s cuisine.
Malone has gained national attention and earned a place as a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for “Rising Star Chef” for 2013 and “Best Chef Midwest” for 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019. In 2013, Malone was named one of Food and Wine magazine’s “Best New Chefs.” In 2017, Malone opened her first restaurant, Grand Café, and the following year, it was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for “Best New Restaurant” and was also named Food and Wine magazine’s “Best New Restaurant.” That year, Malone was also awarded Food and Wine magazine’s “Dish of the Year.” Malone has written for Esquire’s “Eat Like a Man” blog and been featured in many magazines including GQ, Saveur, and Elle. In 2014 she won Cooking Light’s “Trail Blazer Award” for her work with sustainable seafood.
Most recently, Malone has created Paris Dining Club, allowing guests to bring her food and hospitality to their home tables. You can find Malone at her North Loop Paris Dining Club Studio hosting events and creating new experiences for people who love food.