Anthony Bourdain, Ina Garten and Martha Stewart remain the names to beat in food broadcasting.
For a second year running, the three dominated the top tier of television awards from the James Beard Foundation, winning for the same shows in the same categories as in 2014. In fact, Bourdain made his a three-year streak, taking home the honour for best on-location program for public television’s The Mind of a Chef every year since 2013.
Garten was once again named outstanding host for her Food Network series Barefoot Contessa, while Stewart took another win for in-studio program with public television’s Martha Stewart’s Cooking School.
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The Beard Foundation’s awards – announced Friday evening during a ceremony in New York – honour those who follow in the footsteps of Beard, considered the dean of American cooking when he died in 1985. Friday’s ceremony named winners in media and publishing; a separate ceremony on May 4 will be held in Chicago for chefs and restaurants.
David Sterling’s evocative exploration of the Yucatan Peninsula, “Yucatan: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition,” was named cookbook of the year, as well as best international cookbook. Prolific food writer Barbara Kafka was added to the foundation’s cookbook hall of fame. Kafka’s work has spanned generations and trends, from Microwave Gourmet in the ’80s to her 2011 ode to gluten-free cooking, The Intolerant Gourmet.
Chefs across the South continue to reinvent the region’s cuisine, earning it well-deserved national prominence. So it was fitting that Sean Brock’s fresh take on Southern cuisine – Heritage – won best cookbook for American cooking. Brock, who won a 2010 Beard award for best chef in the Southeast, is best known for his Charleston, South Carolina, restaurants, Husk and McCrady’s.
Unusual and heirloom grains continue to gain traction in the baking world, and that was reflected with Alice Medrich’s win for Flavor Flours: A New Way to Bake with Teff, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Other Whole & Ancient Grains, Nuts & Non-Wheat Flours as best baking and dessert book.
Dan Barber’s call to action over the state of American agriculture – The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food – won for writing and literature. The foundation named Barber’s New York City restaurant, Blue Hill, the nation’s most outstanding restaurant in 2013.
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