An embodiment of the American dream, Barbara Lynch is the James Beard Award winning chef-owner of Barbara Lynch Gruppo in Boston, which includes: No. 9 Park, B & G Oysters, The Butcher Shop, Plum Produce, Drink, Sportello, Stir and Menton. Barbara grew up in South Boston and got her first cooking job at a local rectory at the age of 13. During high school, Barbara worked for chef Mario Bonello a...

An embodiment of the American dream, Barbara Lynch is the James Beard Award winning chef-owner of Barbara Lynch Gruppo in Boston, which includes: No. 9 Park, B & G Oysters, The Butcher Shop, Plum Produce, Drink, Sportello, Stir and Menton. Barbara grew up in South Boston and got her first cooking job at a local rectory at the age of 13. During high school, Barbara worked for chef Mario Bonello at Boston’s St. Botolph Club. In her early twenties, Barbara worked with Todd English at Michaela’s, Olives and then Figs. She traveled to Italy where she learned about Italian cuisine from local women. Upon returning to Boston, Barbara became the executive chef at Galleria Italiana, where she earned the Best New Chef honor from Food & Wine. Barbara opened her first restaurant, No. 9 Park, in Boston’s Beacon Hill area in 1998. On the heels of her success with No. 9 Park, she continued expanding her group with a new addition opening every few years. Her most recent restaurant, Menton, opened in 2010. Barbara’s first cookbook, Stir, Mixing it up in the Italian Tradition, was published in the fall of 2009.