Chef Abraham Gessesse walked into the kitchen of his Grand Avenue restaurant Hyacinth on a Wednesday in January to find his sous chef Connor Barth wearing a giant smile. “What are you so happy about?” Gessesse asked, suspiciously. Barth was shocked that the chef didn’t know — he’d been nam ed a semifinalist for a prestigious James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef Midwest that morning. Chef Abraham Gessesse of Hyacinth is a James Beard Foundation nominee for Best Chef Midwest in 2025. (Courtesy of Jacqueline Hanson) After spending a little time with Gessesse, who took over St. Paul’s Hyacinth from original chef/owner Rikki Giambruno about a year and a half ago, it’s not surprising to learn he wasn’t waiting on pins and needles for that list to come out. It’s just not his way. “The way that I approach food, the ingredients, I just treat them as already perfect,” Gessesse said. “I’m not trying to manipulate what God or nature has come up with. I’m just trying to appreciate and enjoy it. Also, for me, it’s about being accountable and also trying to do the best for the people around me and be the best kind of person I can. That comes before a restaurant or career or anything. But luckily I get to do this, too.” Gessesse, 34, was born in Boston and raised in the Twin Cities. He’s the son of Ethiopian immigrants and didn’t speak much English until he started grade school. “There’s such a tight group of Ethiopian people here that you could just never speak English,” Gessesse said. He caught on quickly, though, and after high school, the chef studied theology and history at the University of Northwestern in Roseville, eventually dropping out after his interest in cooking began to grow. At the urging of his mother, he attended the Hubert H. Humphrey Job Corps, a U.S. Department of Labor job training program, for culinary arts. His résumé includes two years of study in Norway, staging at Restaurant Kontrast, which boasts two Michelin stars, and two years at Kado no Mise, the lauded Minneapolis Japanese restaurant owned by chef Shigeyuki Furukawa, a fellow nominee for the Beard this year. It might seem odd that Gessesse now owns an Italian restaurant, but to him, it’s completely natural. An Ethiopian platter at the Injera Circle pop-up at Hyacinth in February 2025. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) “Due to conflicts and colonization, a lot of Italian culture made its way to Ethiopia and Eritrea,” he said. “There are a lot of pasta factories, bakeries, gelato shops that Ethiopians have continued to operate and make their own.” The chef, dressed in a dapper navy blazer and a tweed newsboy hat, said Italy’s influence on Ethiopia extends to culture, style, cars and more. “There’s a lot of shared culture and expression,” he said. Additionally, the chef spent a few years working with chef Jason Stratton at Spinasse, a tiny Piedmontese eatery that seems quite similar to the 35-seat Hyacinth. And though Gessesse has been careful not to change Hyacinth too much — “There’s a lot of things we all love about Hyacinth, and it’s important that we keep it that way” — he is also always adding things. The menu changes every few weeks, and to his surprise, a new dish on the menu, fusilli with a bolognese spiked with the Ethiopian building block spice berbere, has been a best seller. Gessesse has also launched a pop-up operation called Injera Circle with Minneapolis chef and fellow Ethiopian Yon Hailu. They held their first dinner, which I was lucky enough to attend, at the end of February. The dinner was surprisingly similar to Ethiopian food I’ve had around town, if a little more upscale, and that’s by design, Gessesse said. “We are hoping to create a genuine cultural experience done at a high level,” he said. A sambusa at the Ethiopian pop-up event Injera Circle, held at Hyacinth in Feb. 2025. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press) The pop-ups will continue to evolve as the chefs get more comfortable pushing the envelope of the cuisine they grew up enjoying, but for now, they’re happy cooking and sharing what they know. Injera Circle will host another dinner on April 27 at Hyacinth. For reservations, go to https://resy.com/cities/minneapolis-mn/venues/hyacinth/events/the-injera-circle-2025-04-27. Otherwise, Gessesse continues to focus on the tiny restaurant and congenial environment he and his co-workers have created at Hyacinth. And he might have a peek first thing in the morning at the James Beard finalist list, which comes out April 2, but it’s not the first thing on his mind. “As far as ego, I don’t really have time or energy for all that stuff,” Gessesse said. “I’m in service to Hyacinth and community first.” Hyacinth: 790 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-478-1822; hyacinthstpaul.com Related Articles Dining Diary: Fish fry at St. Paul Brewing and a gas-station tasting menu at El Sazon With help from the reigning champion, can Cossetta make the world’s best panettone? As Ramadan ends, a new cookbook sheds light on Pakistan’s varied cuisine Blend your way to better chicken vindaloo With March Madness underway, it’s game time for newly opened women’s-sports bars across the US ...read more read less