Lists

Who Are Boston’s Most Powerful Female Chefs, And Where Should Barbara Lynch Go Next?

Barbara Lynch has the power.
Barbara Lynch has the power. Photo: Justin Ide

For a magazine that often profiles untouchables, it’s very nice to see Barbara Lynch on Boston’s annual power list. This iteration of their Power issue aimed to include a diverse list and broadly expand the notion of “power.” In fact, the magazine also name-checks several other game-changing ladychefs. More ahead.

According to Boston, Lynch makes the cut because she changes “the very fabric of every neighborhood where she opens a new restaurant.” Hmm. While we appreciate what Drink has done for Fort Point, and who doesn’t pine for a meal at Menton, we think it’s a decidedly un-Fort Point destination. Beyond getting more wealthy people to park there and then scurry inside, how has it actually changed the neighborhood? (If her hood-changing powers are so potent, we’d love to see her open more places outside the South End and Fort Point.)

An accompanying round-up heralds second-generation chefs like Joanne Chang (who once worked for Jody Adams), Maura Kilpatrick (pastry chef under Ana Sortun), New York transplant Patricia Yeo, and Tiffani Faison as women to watch. Do you think anyone’s missing from the list?

And, if Lynch truly does have the power to remake a neighborhood, which corners of Boston are seriously in need of her magic touch?

The 50 Most Powerful Women in Boston
[Boston]

Who Are Boston’s Most Powerful Female Chefs, And Where Should Barbara Lynch Go