Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Alaska native Beau Schooler has been on the James Beard Foundation’s radar for years. This spring, Schooler is nominated for Best Chef in the Northwest and Pacific region, and he’s cooking at the James Beard Award after party on June 16 in Chicago.
When he’s not rubbing elbows with a who’s who of the restaurant industry, Schooler is executive chef at Juneau, Alaska-based In Bocca Al Lupo, which serves Alaskan cuisine “through the lens of an Italian restaurant.” The dinner menu at In Bocca Al Lupo includes nine or 10 wood-fired pizzas at any given time, though Schooler says getting kiln-dried wood to run the oven can be a challenge since the restaurant is in a coastal rainforest. Other challenges include receiving fresh produce by barge and balancing local expectations with dreams of global cuisine.
You won’t want to miss Schooler discussing how he blends the cuisines of Alaska, Calabria and the Philippines to create a one-of-a-kind menu that draws diners from across the globe and across the street.
Learn more about In Bocca Al Lupo at inboccaallupoak.com and on Instagram at instagram.com/juneaulupo.
Alaska native Beau Schooler has been on the James Beard Foundation’s radar for years. This spring, Schooler is nominated for Best Chef in the Northwest and Pacific region, and he’s cooking at the James Beard Award after party on June 16 in Chicago.
When he’s not rubbing elbows with a who’s who of the restaurant industry, Schooler is executive chef at Juneau, Alaska-based In Bocca Al Lupo, which serves Alaskan cuisine “through the lens of an Italian restaurant.” The dinner menu at In Bocca Al Lupo includes nine or 10 wood-fired pizzas at any given time, though Schooler says getting kiln-dried wood to run the oven can be a challenge since the restaurant is in a coastal rainforest. Other challenges include receiving fresh produce by barge and balancing local expectations with dreams of global cuisine.
You won’t want to miss Schooler discussing how he blends the cuisines of Alaska, Calabria and the Philippines to create a one-of-a-kind menu that draws diners from across the globe and across the street.
Learn more about In Bocca Al Lupo at inboccaallupoak.com and on Instagram at instagram.com/juneaulupo.
