The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. The awards recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists each year, and are generally scheduled around James Beard's May birthday.
The foundation also awards annually since 1998 the designation of America's Classic for local independently-owned restaurants that reflect the character of the community.
2020 awards The 2020 chef and restaurant awards were canceled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book and media awards were announced online on May 27, 2020. A virtual event was broadcast from Chicago on September 25, 2020.
Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian Award
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jessica B. Harris Humanitarian of the Year: Zero Foodprint
Restaurant Design Awards 75 Seats and Under: Heliotrope Architects, Rupee Bar, Seattle, Washington 76 Seats and Over: ORA and Klein Agency, Auburn, Los Angeles, California Design Icon: Chez Panisse, Berkeley, California
Book Awards The 2020 James Beard Foundation Book Awards were as follows: American Cooking: Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin (Clarkson Potter) Baking and Dessert: Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making by Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman (Avery) Beverage with Recipes: The NoMad Cocktail Book by Leo Robitschek (Ten Speed Press) Beverage without Recipes: World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson (Mitchell Beazley) General Cooking: Where Cooking Begins: Uncomplicated Recipes to Make You a Great Cook by Carla Lalli Music (Clarkson Potter) Health and Special Diets: Gluten-Free Baking at Home: 102 Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and More by Jeffrey Larsen (Ten Speed Press) International: Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions from the Horn of Africa by Yohanis Gebreyesus with Jeff Koehler (Interlink Publishing) Photography: American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta by Eric Wolfinger (Chronicle Books) Reference, History, and Scholarship: The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration by Chris Smith (Chelsea Green Publishing) Restaurant and Professional: The Whole Fish Cookbook: New Ways to Cook, Eat and Think by Josh Niland (Hardie Grant Books) Single Subject: Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook: The Secrets of Italy's Best Home Cooks by Vicky Bennison (Hardie Grant Books) Vegetable-Focused Cooking: Whole Food Cooking Every Day: Transform the Way You Eat with 250 Vegetarian Recipes Free of Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar by Amy Chaplin (Artisan Books) Writing: Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer by Bren Smith (Knopf) Book of the Year: The Whole Fish Cookbook: New Ways to Cook, Eat and Think by Josh Niland (Hardie Grant Books) Cookbook Hall of Fame: Jancis Robinson
Broadcast Media Awards
The 2020 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Awards were as follows: Audio Program: It Burns: The Scandal-Plagued Race to Breed the World's Hottest Chili, Audible Audio Reporting: Gravy – Mahalia Jackson's Glori-Fried Chicken, Betsy Sheperd, southernfoodways.org Documentary: That's My Jazz, Vimeo Online Video, Fixed Location and/or Instructional: Grace Young – Wok Therapist, 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, Eater Outstanding Personality: Roy Choi, Broken Bread with Roy Choi, KCET Television Program, in Studio or Fixed Location: Pati's Mexican Table – Tijuana: Stories from the Border, WETA Television Program, on Location: Las Crónicas del Taco (Taco Chronicles) – Canasta, Netflix Visual and Technical Excellence: Chef's Table, Netflix, Adam Bricker, Chloe Weaver, and Will Basanta Visual Reporting (on TV or Online): Rotten – The Avocado War, Netflix, Christine Haughney, Erin Cauchi, and Gretchen Goetz
Journalism Awards The 2020 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards were as follows:
Columns: Power Rankings: "The Official Fast Food French Fry Power Rankings"; "The Official Spicy Snack Power Rankings"; "The Official Domestic Beer Power Rankings" by 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" by Pete Wells, The New York Times Dining and Travel: "In Pursuit of the Perfect Pizza" by Matt Goulding, Airbnb Magazine Feature Reporting: "Value Meal" by 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" by 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" by Catherine Boudreau and Helena Bottemiller Evich, Politico Home Cooking: "Fry Time" by Nancy Singleton Hachisu, Saveur Innovative Storytelling: "Food and Loathing on the Campaign Trail" by 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" by 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" by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award: "My Mother's Catfish Stew" by John T. Edge, Oxford American Personal Essay, Long Form: "The Dysfunction of Food" by Kim Foster Personal Essay, Short Form: "For 20 Years, happy hour has seen us through work — and life" by M. Carrie Allan, The Washington Post Profile: "The Provocations of Chef Tunde Wey" by Brett Martin, GQ Magazine Wine, Spirits, and Other Beverages: "Seltzer Is Over. Mineral Water Is Forever." by Jordan Michelman, PUNCH Emerging Voice Award: L.A. Taco
2021 awards In August 2020, the James Beard Foundation announced that the 2020 awards presentation would be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will "forgo its traditional Awards presentation in 2021, including the Restaurant and Chef Awards, Media Awards, and Restaurant Design Awards. We will not be accepting recommendations or submissions. We will be working with the Awards Committee and Subcommittees to overhaul the policies and procedures for the Awards."
2022 awards The 2022 James Beard Awards were presented on June 13, 2022, at The Lyric Opera of Chicago and hosted by Kwame Onwuachi. The media awards ceremony was on June 11, 2022, at Columbia College Chicago and was hosted by Lisa Ling, while the Leadership Awards ceremony was held on June 12, 2022, at The Dalcy in Chicago and hosted by Terry Bryant.
Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian Award
Lifetime Achievement Award: Martin Yan Humanitarian of the Year: Grace Young
Leadership Award Erika Allen Irene Li Mónica Ramírez Mavis-Jay Sanders Emerging Leadership: Understory, Oakland, CA
Restaurant and Chef Awards
The James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards in 2022 were as follows: Outstanding Restaurateur: Chris Bianco, Tratto, Pane Bianco, and Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix, AZ Outstanding Chef: Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, GA Outstanding Restaurant : Chai Pani, Asheville, NC Emerging Chef: Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin, TX Best New Restaurant: Owamni, Minneapolis, MN Outstanding Pastry Chef: Warda Bouguettaya, Warda Pâtisserie, Detroit, MI Outstanding Baker: Don Guerra, Barrio Bread, Tucson, AZ Outstanding Hospitality: Cúrate, Asheville, NC Outstanding Wine Program: The Four Horsemen, New York, NY Outstanding Bar Program: Julep, Houston, TX Best Chef: California - Brandon Jew, Mister Jiu's, San Francisco, CA Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH) - Erick Williams, Virtue Restaurant & Bar, Chicago, IL Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA) - Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia, PA Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI) - Dane Baldwin, The Diplomat, Milwaukee, WI Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY) - Caroline Glover, Annette, Aurora, CO Best Chef: New York State - Chintan Pandya, Dhamaka, New York, NY Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT) - Nisachon Morgan, Saap, Randolph, VT Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA) - Robynne Maii, Fête, Honolulu, HI Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV) - Ricky Moore, Saltbox Seafood Joint, Durham, NC Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR) - Adam Evans, Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, AL Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK) - Fernando Olea, Sazón, Santa Fe, NM Best Chef: Texas - Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo, Austin, TX
Book Awards The 2022 James Beard Foundation Book Awards were as follows: Baking and Desserts: Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries, by Kristina Cho (Harper Horizon) Beverage with Recipes: The Way of the Cocktail: Japanese Traditions, Techniques, and Recipes by Julia Momose with Emma Janzen (Penguin Random House) Beverage without Recipes: Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol, by Mallory O'Meara (Hanover Square Press) General: Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health, by Gregory Gourdet and JJ Goode (Harper Wave) International: In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries That Touch the Indian Ocean, by Hawa Hassan and Julia Turshen Reference, History, and Scholarship: Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, by Adrian Miller (University of North Carolina Press) Restaurant and Professional: Mr Jiu's in Chinatown: Recipes and Stories from the Birthplace of Chinese American Food, by Brandon Jew and Tienlon Ho (Ten Speed Press) Single Subject: The Hog Book: A Chef's Guide to Hunting, Butchering and Cooking Wild Pigs, by Jesse Griffiths (Wild Hog Project) US Foodways: Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou, by Melissa M Martin (Artisan Books) Vegetable-Focused Cooking: The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes from Omma's Kitchen by Joanne Lee Molinaro (Clarkson Potter) Visuals: Take One Fish:The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating, Rob Palmer and Daniel New (Harbie Grant) Writing: Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, by Marcia Chateline (Liveright)
Broadcast Media Awards The 2022 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Awards were as follows: Documentary/Docuseries: Gathers, Netflix Instructional Visual Media: The Wild Harvest with Alan Bargo, Vimeo Reality or Competition Visual Media: Top Chef: Family Style - Truffles, Caviar & Prawns -- Oh My!, Peacock Commercial/Sponsored Visual Media: Justin V. Barocas: Uber Eats Presents: On the Rise with Marcus Samuelsson, Eater, YouTube, Instagram Visual Media - Short Form: Eat This: What Everyone Gets Wrong About Farm Work, AJ+ Visual Media - Long Form: Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition, Hulu Social Media Account: Alexis Nikole Nelson, @blackforager, TikTok and Instagram Audio Programming: Dish City - How American Chinese Food Became Delivery Food, WAMU Audio Reporting: Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, The Sporkful - A Reckoning At Bon Appétit, Update: Inside the Turmoil at Bon Appétit, various podcasts platforms
Journalism Awards Columns and Newsletters: Tex-Mexplainer: "Nixtamalization Is the 3,500-Year-Old Secret to Great Tortillas"; "Live a Little and Try Crunching on Chapulines, or Roasted Grasshoppers"; "Forget Everything You Think You Know About Mole" by Jose Ralat, Texas Monthly Dining and Travel: Francis Lam, Condé Nast Traveler