Chefs are the new celebrities, acknowledge it, embrace it, love it! Finally these masters of their craft are getting the lauding they deserve. Make way for the crème de la crème of the culinary world, the 2013 James Beard Award finalists have been announced and this years list has some fierce competition. Now I don’t want to pick favorites but, here are a few I am secretly hoping for:
Forget March Madness let’s hear your James Beard Award Predictions below! This is the Academy Awards for chefs and one of the most prestigious culinary events and all year. Sure, Michelin stars are important but those can be taken away. James Beard Awards recognize excellency in each category and will forever give the winner bragging rights for being outstanding at their craft. Start generating your new restaurant list because these finalists are here to stay!
Food Coverage in a General Interest Publication
· Los Angeles Magazine, Lesley Bargar Suter
· Men’s Health, Adina Steiman
· Real Simple, Lygeia Grace
· Washingtonian, Todd Kliman
Personal Essay
· Fuchsia Dunlop, Lucky Peach, “London Town”
· Hua Hsu, Lucky Peach, “Wokking the Suburbs”
· Joy Manning, Table Matters, “The Swedish Chef”
Humor
· Lisa Hanawalt, Lucky Peach, “The Secret Lives of Chefs”
· Alice Laussade, Dallas Observer, “The Cheap Bastard’s Ultimate Guide to Eating like a Total Cheap Bastard in Dallas”
· Michael Procopio, Food for the Thoughtless, “KY Jelly is My New Jam”
Cooking/Recipes/Instruction
· M. Goulding, M. Kadey, P. Kita, Men’s Health, “The Butcher Is Back!,” “The Six-Pack Foods of Summer,” “Southern Food Rises Again”
· J. Kenji López-Alt, Serious Eats, “The Food Lab”
· Every Day w/ Rachael Ray Staff, “Pick Your Perfect Thanksgiving”
Profile
· Brandon Chuang, Feast, “An Evolution of Ideas”
· Alex Halberstadt, NYT Mag, “Cooking Isn’t Creative and It Isn’t Easy”
· Brett Martin, GQ, “Danny and the Electric Kung Pao Pastrami Test”
Food and Culture
· Oliver Bullough, Roads & Kingdoms, “Adjika: Sauce of Glory, Pride of Abkhazia”
· Ryan D’Agostino & Editors, Esquire, “The Esquire Community Cookbook”
· Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light, “Mississippi Chinese Lady Goes Home to Korea”
Politics/Policy/Environment
· Barry Estabrook, OnEarth, “Out to Lunch”
· Tracie McMillan, The American Prospect, As Common As Dirt
· Ben Paynter, Bloomberg Businessweek, “The Carp Must Die”
Health & Well-Being
· Rachael Moeller Gorman, EatingWell, “Solving the Sugar Puzzle”
· Aliza Green, Washington Post, “The Gloves Can Come Off, as Far as I’m Concerned”
· Lou Schuler, Men’s Health, “Did Cavemen Have Abs?”
Food Columns
· Celia Barbour, https://philipstown.info, Mouths to Feed: “Into the Woods,” “Of Cabbages and Queens,” “The Dirt on Christmas”
· Adam Sachs, Bon Appétit, The Obsessivore: “I’m Big On Japan,” “Everyone’s a Critic,” “The Tradition Starts Here”
· Jane and Michael Stern, Saveur, Routes: “Surf and Turf,” “Hog Heaven, “Fair and Square”
· Lettie Teague, WSJ, On Wine: “A Pinot a Day: Is a Little Wine Really
Good for You?,” “Think While You Drink: In Defense of Wine Snobs,” “Men Are From Cab, Women Are From Moscato?”
Wine, Spirits, and Beverages
· Betsy Andrews, Saveur, “Northern Renaissance”
· Marisa Huff, La Cucina Italiana, “The New Birra Italiana”
· Michael Steinberger, vanityfair.com, “A Vintage Crime”
Individual Food Blog
· Cannelle et Vanille, Aran Goyoaga
· Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, Hank Shaw
· Vinography, Alder Yarrow
Group Food Blog
· Dark Rye
· Eater National
· Grub Street NY
Food and Travel
· Matt Goulding, Roads & Kingdoms, “The Soul of a City”
· Peter Jon Lindberg, Travel + Leisure, “Hawaii’s Next Wave”
· Adam Sachs, Travel + Leisure, “The Best Little Eating Town in Europe”
Craig Claiborne AwardDistinguished Restaurant Review Award
· Alison Cook, Houston Chronicle, “Justin Yu and Oxheart Look Forward, Not Back,” “Torchy’s Tacos’ Magic Gets Lost in Translation,” “Why Underbelly is Essential to Houston”
· Patric Kuh, LA Mag, “Whole Foods,” “Shore Thing,” “Power Station”
· Tejal Rao, Village Voice, “Bangkok Pop, No Fetishes,” “The Sweet Taste of Success,” “Enter the Comfort Zone at 606 R&D”
MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award
· Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, Mpls.St.Paul Mag, “The Cheese Artist”
· Richard Parks, Lucky Peach, “Khmerican Food”
· Mike Sula, Chicago Reader, “Chicken of the Trees”
The winner of Publication of the Year will be announced on May 3, 2013
Radio Show/Audio Webcast
· Fear of Frying, WBEZ, Nina Barrett and Lynette Kalsnes
· NewsWorks, WHYY FM, Lari Robling
· The Salt, NPR, Allison Aubrey and Alison Richards
Video Webcast Fixed Location/Instructional
· Chicago Restaurant Pastry Competition, jmpurepastry.com, Nicolas DeGrazia, Daniel Kullman,
Jimmy MacMillan, and Julie MacMillan
· How to Cocktail, youtube.com/liquor, Kit Codik, Scott Kritz, and Noah Rothbaum
· The Seasonal Cooks, bonappetit.com, Melissa Hamilton, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Matthew Duckor
Video Webcast On Location
· The Curious Adventures of Kirk Lombard, Kirk Lombard and Kelly LeCastre
· food. curated., Liza de Guia
· The Perennial Plate, Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine
TV Prog Studio/Fixed Location
· CBS Sunday Morning: “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry,” CBS, Charles Osgood, Gavin Boyle, Amol Mhatre, Rand Morrison, Amy Rosner, Jason Sacca, and Robin Sanders
· M. Stewart’s Cooking School, PBS, Martha Stewart, Greta Anthony, Christina Deyo, Michael Morrison, Olivia Schneider, and Lisa Wagner
· Sara’s Weeknight Meals, PBS, Sara Moulton, Natalie Gustafson, and
Silver Plume Productions
TV Program On Location
· Bizarre Foods America, Travel Channel, Colleen Needles Steward and
Andrew Zimmern
· Meat Eater, Sportsman Channel, Jared Andrukanis, Joe Caterini, Chris Collins, Steven Rinella, Craig Shepherd, and Lydia Tenaglia
· The Mind of a Chef, PBS, Anthony Bourdain, Joe Caterini, Christopher Collins, Jonathan Cianfrani, Michael Steed, and Lydia Tenaglia
Television Segment
· CNN InFocus, CNN, Tom Foreman, Jeremy Harlan, Kat Kinsman, Dan Lothian,
and Eric Marrapodi
· Friday Arts, Art of Food, WHYY TV, Monica Rogozinski
· The Hungry Hound, WLS-TV (ABC 7) Chicago, Steve Dolinsky and Badriyyah Waheed
Special/Documentary
· America Revealed: Food Machine, PBS, Yul Kwon, Christopher Bryson, Nick Catliff, Ruth Johnston, Amy Goodman Kass, Antony Tackaberry, and Nic Young
· Food Forward Urban Agriculture Across America, PBS, Stett Holbrook and Greg Roden
· The Restaurateur, PBS, Roger Sherman
Outstanding Food Personality/Host
· Gerry Garvin, Cooking Channel, Road Trip With G. Garvin
· Sara Moulton, PBS, Sara’s Weeknight Meals
· Andrew Zimmern, Travel Channel, Bizarre Foods America
Cookbooks: American Cooking
· Fire in My Belly, Kevin Gillespie and David Joachim, Andrews McMeel Publishing
· Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking, Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart, Gibbs Smith
· Southern Comfort, Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing, Ten Speed Press
Cookbooks: Beverage
· How to Love Wine, Eric Asimov, William Morrow
· Inventing Wine, Paul Lukacs, W.W. Norton & Company
· Wine Grapes, Julia Harding, Jancis Robinson, and José Vouillamoz, Ecco
Cookbooks: General Cooking
· Canal House Cooks Every Day, Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, Andrews McMeel Publishing
· Modernist Cuisine at Home, Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet, The Cooking Lab
· What Katie Ate, Katie Quinn Davies, Viking Studio
Cookbooks: International
· Burma, Naomi Duguid, Artisan
· Gran Cocina Latina, Maricel E. Presilla, W.W. Norton & Company
· Jerusalem: A Cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi, Ten Speed Press
Cookbooks: Reference and Scholarship
· 101 Classic Cookbooks, Marvin J. Taylor and Clark Wolf, Rizzoli New York
· The Art of Fermentation, Sandor Ellix Katz, Chelsea Green Publishing
· The Cookbook Library, Anne Willan with Mark Cherniavsky and Kyri Claflin, University of California Press
Cookbooks: Baking and Dessert
· Bouchon Baking, Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel, Artisan
· The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook, Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance, William Morrow
· Flour Water Salt Yeast, Ken Forkish, Ten Speed Press
Cookbooks: Professional Point of View
· Come In, We’re Closed, Christine Carroll and Jody Eddy, Running Press
· Fundamental Techniques of Classic Italian Cuisine, The International Culinary Center, Cesare Casella, and Stephanie Lyness, Abrams
· Toqué!, Normand Laprise, les éditions du passage
Cookbooks: Focus on Health
· Cooking Light: The New Way to Cook Light, Scott Mowbray and Ann Taylor Pittman, Oxmoor House
· The Sprouted Kitchen, Sara Forte, Ten Speed Press
· True Food, Sam Fox and Andrew Weil with Michael Stebner, Little, Brown and Company
Cookbooks: Single Subject
· Afield, Jesse Griffiths, Welcome Books
· Modern Sauces, Martha Holmberg, Chronicle Books
· Ripe, Nigel Slater, Ten Speed Press
Cookbooks: Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian
· Foraged Flavor, Tama Matsuoka Wong with Eddy Leroux, Clarkson Potter Publishers
· Herbivoracious, Michael Natkin, The Harvard Common Press
· Roots, Diane Morgan, Chronicle Books
Cookbooks: Writing and Literature
· The American Way of Eating, Tracie McMillan, Scribner
· The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat, Thomas McNamee, Free Press
· Yes, Chef, Marcus Samuelsson, Random House
Cookbooks: Photography
· Bouchon Bakery, Deborah Jones, Artisan
· Toqué!, Dominique Malaterre, les éditions du passage
· What Katie Ate, Katie Quinn Davies, Viking Studio
The winner of Cookbook of the Year Award and the Cookbook Hall of Fame inductee will be announced on May 3, 2012
Restaurant Design and Graphics
75 Seats and Under:
· Farmshop, Commune, Santa Monica
· Isa, Taavo Somer, Brooklyn
· minibar, Capella Garcia Arquitectura (Juli Capella and Miquel Garcia), Washington, D.C.,
76 Seats and Over:
· Jaleo at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, Rockwell Group, David Rockwell
· Juvia, Alejandro Barrios Carrero Designs, Miami Beach
· Triniti, MC2 Architects (Chung Q. B. Nguyen and Chuong Q. B. Nguyen), Houston
Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional
· Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
· Merry Edwards, Merry Edwards Winery, Sebastopol, CA
· Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn
· Neal Rosenthal, Rosenthal Wine Merchant, NYC
· David Wondrich, Spirits Educator, NYC
Outstanding Wine Program
· A16, SF
· The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN
· CityZen at Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C.
· Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder
· Picasso, Las Vegas
Outstanding Bar Program
· The Aviary, Chicago
· Bar Agricole, SF
· NoMad, NYC
· Holeman & Finch Public House, Atlanta
· Pegu Club, NYC
· The Violet Hour, Chicago
Rising Star Chef of the Year
· Jimmy Bannos, Jr., Purple Pig, Chicago
· Danny Bowien, Mission Chinese Food, SF and NYC
· Thomas McNaughton, Flour + Water, SF
· David Posey, Blackbird, Chicago
· Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn, Lummi Island, WA
Best New Restaurant
· Empellón Cocina, NYC
· Grace, Chicago
· The Ordinary, Charleston
· Rich Table, San Francisco
· State Bird Provisions, SF
Best Chef NYC
· April Bloomfield, The Spotted Pig
· Wylie Dufresne, wd, 50
· Mark Ladner, Del Posto
· Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto
· Michael White, Marea
Best Chef Northeast
· Jamie Bissonnette, Coppa, Boston
· Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Café, Boston
· Gerry Hayden, The North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY
· Melissa Kelly, Primo, Rockland, ME
· Barry Maiden, Hungry Mother, Cambridge, MA
Best Chef Mid-Atlantic
· Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
· Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore
· Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, D.C.
· Brad Spence, Amis, Philadelphia
· Vikram Sunderam, Rasika, Washington, D.C.
Best Chef Southeast
· Ashley Christensen, Poole’s Downtown Diner, Raleigh, NC
· Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville
· Joseph Lenn, The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN
· Steven Satterfield, Miller Union, Atlanta
· Tandy Wilson, City House, Nashville
Best Chef South
· Justin Devillier, La Petite Grocery, New Orleans
· Jeff McInnis, Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, Miami Beach
· Tory McPhail, Commander’s Palace, New Orleans
· Alon Shaya, Domenica, New Orleans
· Sue Zemanick, Gautreau’s, New Orleans
Best Chef Midwest
· Justin Aprahamian, Sanford, Milwaukee
· Gerard Craft, Niche, St. Louis
· Colby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City, MO
· Michelle Gayer, Salty Tart, Minneapolis
· Jack Riebel, Butcher & the Boar, Minneapolis
Best Chef Great Lakes
· Dave Beran, Next, Chicago
· Stephanie Izard, Girl & the Goat, Chicago
· Jonathon Sawyer, Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland
· Paul Virant, Vie, Western Springs, IL
· Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago
Best Chef Northwest
· Jason Franey, Canlis, Seattle
· Naomi Pomeroy, Beast, Portland
· Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland
· Ethan Stowell, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, Seattle
· Cathy Whims, Nostrana, Portland
Best Chef Southwest
· Kevin Binkley, Binkley’s Restaurant, Cave Creek, AZ
· Bryce Gilmore, Barley Swine, Austin
· Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja, Denver
· Hugo Ortega, Hugo’s, Houston
· Chris Shepherd, Underbelly, Houston
Best Chef West
· Chris Cosentino, Incanto, SF
· Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA
· Corey Lee, Benu, SF
· Daniel Patterson, Coi, SF
· Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal, LA
Outstanding Pastry Chef
· Dominique Ansel, Dominique Ansel Bakery, NYC
· Melissa Chou, Aziza, SF
· Ken Forkish, Ken’s Artisan Bakery, Portland
· Hedy Goldsmith, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Miami
· Brooks Headley, Del Posto, NYC
Outstanding Service
· Del Posto, NYC
· Quince, SF
· The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA
· Topolobampo, Chicago
· Vetri, Philadelphia
Outstanding Restaurateur
· Maguy Le Coze, Le Bernardin, NYC
· Donnie Madia, One Off Hospitality Group (Blackbird, Avec, Publican
and others), Chicago
· Piero Selvaggio, Valentino Restaurant Group (Valentino, Vin Bar), LA
· Carolyn Styne, Lucques, West Hollywood
· Phil Suarez, Suarez Restaurant Group (ABC Kitchen,
Jean Georges, Prime Steakhouse), NYC
Outstanding Restaurant
· August, NOLA
· Blue Hill, NYC
· Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL
· The Slanted Door, SF
· Spiaggia, Chicago
Outstanding Chef
· Sean Brock, McCrady’s, Charleston
· David Chang, Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC
· Gary Danko, Restaurant Gary Danko, SF
· Suzanne Goin, Lucques, West Hollywood, CA
· Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago
· Nancy Silverton, Pizzeria Mozza, LA
Images Via: Google Images
