These Are the 2020 James Beard Media Awards Winners
The awards recognize the best in books, broadcast media, and journalism.
After announcing its 2020 awards finalists earlier this month, the James Beard Foundation has released the list of winners in the Media Awards categories, spanning books, broadcast media, and journalism.
In the book category, winners included Toni Tipton-Martin’s Jubilee, The NoMad Cocktail Book from Leo Robitschek, and Josh Niland’s The Whole Fish Cookbook; TV-wise, Roy Choi was recognized as an outstanding host for Broken Bread with Roy Choi, Chef’s Table won for “Visual and Audio Technical Excellence,” and Las Crónicas del Taco (Taco Chronicles) won “Television Program, on Location.”
Originally scheduled for April 24, the announcement was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, as were the Restaurant and Chef Awards, which are now planned for Friday, September 25.
Check out the full list below, courtesy of the James Beard Foundation.
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 minimal recipes but aren’t recipe-centric.
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 (Netflix)
Visual and Audio Technical Excellence
Chef's Table (Netflix)
Adam Bricker, Chloe Weaver, and Will Basanta
Visual Reporting (on TV or Online)
Rotten – The Avocado War (Netflix)
Reporters: Christine Haughney, Erin Cauchi, and Gretchen Goetz
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