It’s About More Than Food—James Beard Semifinalist Chef Renee Touponce of Mystic, CT

When the phrase James Beard is mentioned in connection with a chef or restaurant, there’s good reason to take notice. Chef Renee Touponce of Port of Call and Oyster Club in Mystic, Connecticut has had quite the year. Since opening Port of Call last spring and acquiring a new leadership role at Oyster Club the year before that, she and her restaurants have garnered consistent attention. In December 2022, she was named Best Chef for her state by the Connecticut Restaurant Association, and just six weeks ago, she was nominated as a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef in the Northeast category.

The James Beard Foundation will announce nominees on Wednesday, March 29th, and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 5, 2023, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Spinning from the win for Connecticut–only the second woman to do so behind Chef Emily Mingrone of New Haven who won in 2021–Touponce was in a state of disbelief when the message came through about the semifinalist recognition.

“My partner Jade and I were in Florida on our way back home from our recent trip to Mexico. We were sitting in her grandmother’s sunroom watching Telemundo and drinking coffee. I received a text message from my PR rep that read: Renee…. with the James Beard nomination photo. I was immediately emotional. Jade ran over to me and grabbed my phone. I just kept asking ‘is it real, is it real?’ For what seemed like a lifetime, Jade then said, ‘It’s real.’ That was it for me. I lost it. She hugged me tight [sic] and I just cried with joy.”

Celebrating her 36th birthday later this month, Touponce is also celebrating 20 years in the business. At 16 she started working in the kitchen and restaurant for an elderly community. From server to prep cook by day and working as a dishwasher at night, she got an early dose of what it takes to work in a kitchen and a restaurant from every position.

Touponce went on to various experiences from working in small kitchens in Burlington to bigger productions focusing on American Regional style at Apricots in Farmington. From there, she established relationships with chefs, like Ed Jones in Avon outside of Hartford.

Touponce is now in her 7th year as a chef with the 85th Day Food Community led by Chef, CEO and Founder, Dan Meiser. With a nod to Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, it was on Santiago’s 85th day that he caught his biggest fish. Meiser believes in good old-fashioned hard work, something he attributes to Chef Touponce. And, after patience and hard work we’re rewarded. No stranger to media attention either, Meiser has worked with Daniel Boulud and earned titles like “30 Under 30” (Restaurant Hospitality) and “40 Under 40” (CT Insider).

Meiser boasts about Touponce’s talent, and her work ethic. Not only has her food been continuously applauded, which has helped shine a light on Mystic’s coastal ingredients and the restaurant’s focus on sustainability, but she’s been recognized for the way in which she runs her kitchen; equality and kindness reign supreme. “Renee’s belief in a kind kitchen takes a sledgehammer to traditions of ego and machismo in professional kitchens, and replaces it with kindness, inclusion and impact,” says Meiser. Touponce has worked in every role imaginable, and, as a queer woman in an industry where the executive chef position is still 75% male, she is deeply sensitive to the discrimination still rampant in some restaurants.

“The way I run my kitchens comes from a place of who I am as a human,” says Touponce. “It’s all about my core values and what’s important to me. I always want to be the best version of myself, so I lead a team with kindness, respect, and as equals…I can’t say all kitchens are run that way, but I do know in mine, it wouldn’t be any other way. In my position, I can create an environment that is healthy, equal, and safe, where no one has to feel out of place.”

Before Chef Touponce’s semifinalist nomination, Port of Call had already been called one of Esquire’s Best 24 Bars in the country, and the restaurant’s bartender, Sebastian Guerrero, won Best Bartender for the state. Enthusiasts had already been flocking to the seaport’s new nautical-themed hotspot where the cocktail forward menu features small plate pairings paying homage to global ports. Offering popular plates like Squid Ink Empanadas, Bacalaitos with Chimichurri foam, or Dry-Cured Prosciutto on Crusty Bread along with drinks with names like Ancient Medicine, Overnight Celebrity, and Curry Barbados have had hordes of food and drink fans swarming the Instagram worthy beautiful bar, not to mention, the after-dinner-hours dive bar, appropriately named Dive, below deck.

The exposure has not only given Chef Touponce a larger platform on which to show off her favorite flavors and star techniques, but it has given her an opportunity to show off her team and the hard work they do. Along with Nancy Hankins (General Manager), and Jade Ayala (Beverage Director), “we are three talented queer women,” Touponce says, “at the helm of such an incredible space for all people, and that makes me endlessly proud.”

March 29th is right around the corner, when the Foundation announces the nominees. It can be an emotional rollercoaster as chefs balance the excitement surrounding them and yet have their day-to-day grind before them. “It all feels so surreal, “ Touponce says. “I’m extremely proud of all the work it has taken me to get to this moment. It’s the biggest honor to have your work recognized on such a national level, and a dream for many of us… but it doesn’t change what I am doing every day. There’s still a kitchen to run and a service to tackle.

The nomination for Chef Renee Touponce is a good sign that the industry is evolving. “This is a positive and necessary thing,” Meiser says. “It’s also an acknowledgment that being a Best Chef is more than what you put on the plate; being a leader, a mentor, and a force for good is equally as powerful. Renee is as talented a chef as I know, but she stands for so much more than just food.”

Port of Call is located in Mystic, CT.