NEW YORK, NY (May 27, 2020) – The James Beard Foundation is proud to announce the winners of the 2020 James Beard Media Awards presented by Capital One, honoring the nation’s top food authors, broadcast producers, hosts, and journalists. Although typically celebrated at an event in New York City with a who’s who of media, chefs, and food personalities, the Foundation cancelled the annual in-person event to ensure everyone’s safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the organization is announcing the winners online via the Foundation’s website and Twitter today.
Each of the Media Awards categories is overseen by a committee of volunteer industry professionals, who determine Awards policies and procedures. The Book Awards judges (51 in total) include editors, authors, journalists, photographers, and culinary educators who have not published a food book during the current Awards year. The Broadcast Media Awards judges (more than 60 in total) include producers, educators, editors, and print journalists. Journalism Awards judges (more than 80 in total) include working editors, journalists, retired food and beverage editors and writers, and professors of leading journalism colleges. A complete list of Award winners can be found below, as well as at https://www.jamesbeard.org/awards.
At a time when both the media and the food industries have been decimated by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation understands the positive impact that a James Beard Award nomination or win can have on a career. Whether in the kitchen or in the newsroom—now more than ever—celebrating these professionals is paramount for our community.
Following this morning’s announcement of Media Award winners, the Foundation will host the kick-off to an online series, James Beard Awards at Home. This digital series is an ongoing conversation with the committee chairs and winners of the James Beard Foundation Media Awards about the nature and future of writing, reporting, and broadcasting about food during a global pandemic. The kick-off panel is scheduled for 1:30pm EDT today, and registration to join can be completed here. The conversation will be moderated by the James Beard Foundation’s chief strategy officer Mitchell Davis and will include Hsiao-Ching Chou, James Beard Book Awards committee chair, author of Chinese Soul Food; John Kessler, James Beard Journalism Awards chair (2020), writer and author; Jamila Robinson, James Beard Journalism Awards chair (2021), food editor, Philadelphia Inquirer; and Ken Rubin, James Beard Broadcast Awards chair, chief culinary officer, Rouxbe Online Cooking School. The ongoing James Beard Media Awards at Home schedule will be shared on the James Beard website and Twitter.
2020 James Beard Foundation Media Awards Winners
2020 James Beard Foundation Book Awards
For cookbooks and other non-fiction food- or beverage-related books that were published in the U.S.
in 2019.
American
Books with recipes focused on the cooking or foodways of regions or communities in the United States.
- Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking
Toni Tipton-Martin
(Clarkson Potter)
Baking and Desserts
Books with recipes focused on breads, pastries, desserts, and other treats.
- Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making
Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman
(Avery)
Beverage with Recipes
Books focused on recipes for how to make beverages.
- The NoMad Cocktail Book
Leo Robitschek
(Ten Speed Press)
Beverage without Recipes
Beverage-focused books and guides that either don’t contain recipes or that may have minima
- World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition
Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson
(Mitchell Beazley)
General
Books with recipes that address a broad scope of cooking, not just a single topic, technique or region.
Where Cooking Begins: Uncomplicated Recipes to Make You a Great Cook
- Carla Lalli Music
(Clarkson Potter)
Health and Special Diets
Books with recipes related to health and nutrition, or that address specific health issues, such as allergies or diabetes.
Gluten-Free Baking at Home: 102 Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and More
- Jeffrey Larsen
(Ten Speed Press)
International
Books with recipes focused on food and cooking traditions of countries or regions outside of the United States.
- Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions from the Horn of Africa
Yohanis Gebreyesus with Jeff Koehler
(Interlink Publishing)
Photography
American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta
- Eric Wolfinger
(Chronicle Books)
Reference, History, and Scholarship
Includes manuals, guides, encyclopedias, and books that present research related to food or foodways.
- The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration
Chris Smith
(Chelsea Green Publishing)
Restaurant and Professional
Books written by a culinary professional or restaurant chef with recipes that may include advanced cooking techniques, use specialty ingredients, and require professional equipment. This includes culinary arts textbooks.
The Whole Fish Cookbook: New Ways to Cook, Eat and Think
- Josh Niland
(Hardie Grant Books)
Single Subject
Books with recipes focused on a single or category of ingredients, a dish, or a method of cooking – such as lobster, seafood, grains, pasta, burgers, or canning. Exceptions: baking and desserts books, vegetable-focused books, health and special diets books, restaurant and professional books, and beverage books should be entered in those respective categories.
- Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks
Vicky Bennison
(Hardie Grant Books)
Vegetable-Focused Cooking
Books that feature recipes for how to prepare and serve vegetables and plant-based ingredients. Books may be vegetarian, vegan, or vegetable-focused with minimal reference to meats.
Whole Food Cooking Every Day: Transform the Way You Eat with 250 Vegetarian Recipes Free of Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar
- Amy Chaplin
(Artisan Books)
Writing
Narrative nonfiction books, including memoirs, culinary tourism, investigative journalism, food advocacy, and critical analysis of food and foodways for a general audience.
- Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer
Bren Smith
(Knopf)
Book of the Year
The Whole Fish Cookbook: New Ways to Cook, Eat and Think
- Josh Niland
(Hardie Grant Books)
Cookbook Hall of Fame
Jancis Robinson
2020 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Awards
For radio, television broadcasts, podcasts, webcasts, and documentaries appearing in 2019.
Audio Program
It Burns: The Scandal-Plagued Race to Breed the World’s Hottest Chili
- Airs on: Audible
Audio Reporting
- Gravy – Mahalia Jackson’s Glori-Fried Chicken
Reporter: Betsy Shepherd
Airs on: southernfoodways.org and iTunes
Documentary
- That’s My Jazz
Airs on: Vimeo
Online Video, Fixed Location and/or Instructional
- Grace Young – Wok Therapist
Airs on: GraceYoung.com and YouTube
Online Video, on Location
- Handmade – How Knives Are Made for New York’s Best Restaurants; How a Ceramics Master Makes Plates for Michelin-Starred Restaurants
Airs on: Eater and YouTube
Outstanding Personality/Host
- Roy Choi
Broken Bread with Roy Choi
Airs on: Tastemade and KCET
Television Program, in Studio or Fixed Location
- Pati’s Mexican Table – A Local’s Tour of Culiacán
Airs on: WETA; distributed nationally by American Public Television
Television Program, on Location
- Las Crónicas del Taco (Taco Chronicles) – Canasta
Airs on: Netflix
Visual and Audio Technical Excellence
Chef’s Table
- Adam Bricker, Chloe Weaver, and Will Basanta
Airs on: Netflix
Visual Reporting (on TV or Online)
- Rotten – The Avocado War
Reporters: Christine Haughney, Erin Cauchi, and Gretchen Goetz
Airs on: Netflix
2020 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards
For articles published in English in 2019.
Columns
- Power Rankings: “The Official Fast Food French Fry Power Rankings”; “The Official Spicy Snack Power Rankings”; “The Official Domestic Beer Power Rankings”
Lucas Kwan Peterson
Los Angeles Times
Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award
- “Peter Luger Used to Sizzle. Now It Sputters.”; “The 20 Most Delicious Things at Mercado Little Spain”; “Benno, Proudly Out of Step With the Age”
Pete Wells
The New York Times
Dining and Travel
“In Pursuit of the Perfect Pizza”
- Matt Goulding
Airbnb Magazine
Feature Reporting
- “Value Meal”
Tad Friend
The New Yorker
Food Coverage in a General Interest Publication
The New Yorker
Foodways
- “A Real Hot Mess: How Grits Got Weaponized Against Cheating Men”
Cynthia R. Greenlee
MUNCHIES / Food by VICE
Health and Wellness
- “How Washington Keeps America Sick and Fat”; “Meet the Silicon Valley Investor Who Wants Washington to Figure Out What You Should Eat”
Catherine Boudreau and Helena Bottemiller Evich
Politico
Home Cooking
“Fry Time”
- Nancy Singleton Hachisu
Saveur
Innovative Storytelling
- “Food and Loathing on the Campaign Trail”
Gary He, Matt Buchanan, and Meghan McCarron
Eater
Investigative Reporting
- “‘The Man Who Attacked Me Works in Your Kitchen’: Victim of Serial Groper Took Justice into Her Own Hands”
Amy Brittain and Maura Judkis
The Washington Post
Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award
- “In Search of Hot Beef”; “Chef Jack Riebel Is in the Fight of His Life”; “Harry Singh on the Perfect Roti, Trinidad, and Life in the Kitchen”
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine
M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award
- “My Mother’s Catfish Stew”
John T. Edge
Oxford American
Personal Essay, Long Form
“The Dysfunction of Food”
- Kim Foster
Kim-Foster.com
Personal Essay, Short Form
“For 20 Years, happy hour has seen us through work — and life”
- M. Carrie Allan
The Washington Post
Profile
- “The Provocations of Chef Tunde Wey”
Brett Martin
GQ Magazine
Wine, Spirits, and Other Beverages
- “Seltzer Is Over. Mineral Water Is Forever.”
Jordan Michelman
PUNCH
Emerging Voice Award
- L.A. Taco
About the 2020 James Beard Awards Presented by Capital One
The 2020 James Beard Awards will mark the 30th anniversary of America’s most coveted and comprehensive honors for chefs, restaurants, journalists, authors, and other leaders in the food and beverage industry, celebrating culinary excellence and achievements from the previous year. The Restaurant & Chef Award winners are slated to be announced on Friday, September 25, 2020, from Chicago and they will be broadcast live via the James Beard Foundation’s Twitter feed. Additional details on the September announcement, including format and location, are forthcoming.
The 2020 James Beard Awards are presented by Capital One, the official credit card and banking partner of the James Beard Foundation. Through this first-of-its-kind partnership, Capital One cardholders enjoy exclusive access to James Beard Foundation programming. The James Beard Awards are proudly hosted by Choose Chicago and the Illinois Restaurant Association and presented in association with Chicago O’Hare and Midway International Airports, as well as the following partners: Premier Sponsors: All-Clad Metalcrafters, American Airlines, the official airline of the James Beard Foundation, HMSHost, Lavazza, S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water; Supporting Sponsors: National Restaurant Association®, Skuna Bay Salmon, Tabasco® Sauce, Valrhona, White Claw® Hard Seltzer, Windstar Cruises, the official cruise line of the James Beard Foundation; Gala Reception Sponsors: Ecolab, Front of the House®, Kendall College, with additional support from VerTerra Dinnerware. Intersport is the Official Broadcast Partner of the 2020 James Beard Awards.
Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and further the Foundation’s mission to celebrate, nurture, and honor chefs and other leaders making America’s food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone. The first James Beard Awards were given in 1991. The James Beard Awards are governed by the volunteer Awards Committee. Each Awards program (Restaurants and Chefs, Books, Journalism, Design, Broadcast Media, and Leadership) has its own subcommittee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedures, and selection of judges for their respective Awards programs. All James Beard Award winners receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia.
About Open for Good, The James Beard Foundation’s Campaign to Support & Rebuild the Independent Restaurant Industry
The James Beard Foundation is working diligently to ensure that the independent restaurant industry doesn’t only endure, but flourishes in a way that is more economically and environmentally sustainable, more inclusive, more equitable, and more delicious following the eventual resolution of the pandemic. The Foundation has redeployed staff and redirected program support for the next 12-18 months to our Open for Good campaign to support the recovery and rebuilding of an independent restaurant industry that is stronger than ever. Emergency relief funding was the first phase of this commitment; with Open for Good, the Foundation is creating programs to help restaurants build the capacity to come back stronger, more resilient, and better prepared for the new economic, social, and cultural realities of this time. Among the components of the Open for Good campaign are workshops, trainings, expert advice, and best practices on reopening and restructuring; continued advocacy programs to support federal, state, and local legislation that benefits the independent restaurant industry; and financial support for restaurants to rebuild. The Foundation will continue to provide meaningful information disseminated via social media, newsletters, webinars, and online events, and engage with our 1 million plus audience base across platforms to bring awareness to major pandemic-related issues and advocate for the industry so we can be #OpenforGood.
About the James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation promotes Good Food For Good™. For more than 30 years, the James Beard Foundation has highlighted the centrality of food culture in our daily lives. Through the variety of industry programs that educate and empower leaders in our community, the Foundation has asserted the power of food to drive behavior, culture, and policy change. The organization is committed to giving chefs a voice and the tools they need to make the world more sustainable, equitable, and delicious for everyone. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the James Beard Foundation launched the Open for Good campaign to ensure that independent restaurants not only survive, but that the industry is able to rebuild stronger than before. For more information, subscribe to the digital newsletter Beard Bites and follow @beardfoundation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
The James Beard Foundation is a national not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in New York City.
About Capital One
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