2008 James Beard Awards Winners

The winners of the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards announced Sunday night, June 8th, include:

Restaurants and Chefs, National

Outstanding Restaurateur: Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, New York

Outstanding Chef: Grant Achatz, Alinea, Chicago

Outstanding Restaurant: Gramercy Tavern, New York (Danny Meyer)

Outstanding New Restaurant: Central Michel Richard, Washington (Michel Richard)

Rising Star Chef: Gavin Kaysen, Cafe Boulud, New York

Outstanding Pastry Chef: Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, Tartine Bakery, San Francisco

Outstanding Wine Service: Eleven Madison Park, New York

Oustanding Wine and Spirits Professional: Terry Theise, Terry Theise Estate Selections, Silver Spring, Md.

Outstanding Service: Terra, St. Helena, Calif.

Chefs - Regional

Best Chef: Great Lakes - Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic - Eric Ziebold, CityZen, Washington, DC

Best Chef: Midwest - Adam Siegel, Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, Milwaukee

Best Chef: New York - David Chang, Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York

Best Chef: Northeast - Patrick Connolly, Radius, Boston

Best Chef: Northwest - Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, Wash.

Best Chef: Southwest - Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colo.

Best Chef: South - Michelle Bernstein, Michy’s, Miami

Best Chef: Southeast - Robert Stehling, Hominy Grill, Charleston, S.C.

Best Chef: Pacific - Craig Stoll, Delfina, San Francisco

Books

Cookbook of the Year - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, “The River Cottage Meat Book”

Cookbook Hall of Fame - Paula Wolfert, “Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco”

Asian Cooking - Niloufer Ichaporia King, “My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking”

Baking and Dessert - Peter Reinhart, “Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor”

Cooking from a Professional Point of View - The French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate, “The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine”

Entertaining - Trish Magwood, “Dish Entertains”

Americana - Jean Anderson, “A Love Affair with Southern Cooking”

General - James Peterson, “Cooking”

Healthy Focus - Jean Harvey-Berino with Joyce Hendley and the editors of EatingWell magazine, “The EatingWell Diet”

International - Anne Willan, “The Country Cooking of France”

Reference - Rowan Jacobsen, “A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Oyster Eating in North America”

Single Subject - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, “The River Cottage Meat Book”

Wine and Spirits - David Wondrich, “Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar”

Writing on Food - Barbara Kingsolver, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life”

Photography - Photographer: France Ruffenach, “The Country Cooking of France” by Anne Willan

Also ….

Television Food Segment, National or Local: The Victory Garden, PBS

Television Food Special: Top Chef Holiday Special, Bravo

Television Food Show, National or Local: Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie, American Public Television

Website Focusing on Food, Beverage, Restaurant, or Nutrition: Epicurious.com, Tanya Steel

Multimedia Writing on Food: Josh Ozersky and Daniel Maurer, nymag.com, “Grub Street”

The Recipes of the Moms of the Chefs

As today is Mother’s Day where better to go for a delicious and appropriate article than Epicurious …

That’s right recipes for Jamie Oliver’s mum’s Rhubarb Daisy Cake, Spain’s Jose Andres‘ delicious Beef with Cabrales “Mama Marisa”. Anthony Bourdain’s mom never taught him to eat those strange things, she taught him good stuff like Coquilles St.-Jacques. And there’s more, again just click the article link above.

And while we’re talking about Mom’s, there’s some good cookbooks out there that follow this line of thinking, such as: Behind Every Great Chef, There’s A Mom - More Than 125 Treasured Recipes From The Mothers Of Our Top Chefs which includes, Art Smith’s mom’s Pear and Cranberry Cobbler, Sara Moulton’s mom’s Meatball Stroganoff, Nigella Lawson’s mother’s Italian Sausages with Lentils, and Jacques Pepin’s mother’s Potato Lace to name just a few.

2008 IACP Cookbook Awards Winners

Back in late March we announced the International Association of Culinary Professionals 2008 book awards finalists. Yesterday in New Orleans, the winners were announced.

Among the familiar names, the double Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto won two awards for his book and Jamie Oliver won best in the general category, plus NY Times Food Columnist Mark Bittman takes home yet another one.

The complete list of winners are:

2008 IACP Cookbook Awards Winners

Cookbook of the Year
Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood by Paul Johnson

American Category
The Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-Hearted Holiday Entertaining, Texas Style by Rebecca Rather, Alison Oresman

Bread, Other Baking and Sweets Category
Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe’s Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader, Lauren Chattman

Chefs and Restaurants Category
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto

Compilations Category
Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Techniques for the Artisan Confectioner by The Culinary Institute of America and Peter P. Greweling, CMB

First Book: The Julia Child Award
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto

Food Photography and Styling Category
Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist - Photographer: Melissa Punch

Food Reference/Technical Category
Food: The History of Taste by Paul Freedman

General Category
Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You A Better Cook by Jamie Oliver

Health and Special Diets Category
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman

International Category
Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf

Literary Food Writing Category
Julia Child by Laura Shapiro

Single Subject Category - Cookbooks that focus on specific foods, cooking methods, techniques or appliances
Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood by Paul Johnson

Wine, Beer or Spirits Category
The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson

Jane Grigson Award (Tie)
Beans: A History by Ken Albala; and
To Cork or Not to Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science and the Battle for the Wine Bottle by George M. Taber

Design Award
Egg published by Flammarion

2008 Beard Award Finalists Named

Earlier this month we ran a partial list of the Semi-Finalists Announced for 2008 James Beard Awards. Well, a few days ago the giant list got paired down for the last time and the Finalists have now been announced.

If you’re unfamiliar with the great length of awards from the Beard Foundation, you’ll get a better understanding of it when you actually glance at their page. For instance, categories are not just for Restaurants and Chefs, they also include: Book Awards, Journalism, Broadcast Media, Design and Graphics, Humanitarian Award, Lifetime Achievement Award and America’s Classics.

So here are our highlights on some of the awards we think matter most, or at least that you would be interested in hearing about:

Outstanding Restaurateur Award: Joe Bastianich/Mario Batali, Tom Douglas, Richard Melman, Wolfgang Puck, Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Outstanding Chef Award: Grant Achatz, Alinea, Chicago; José Andrés, minibar by josé andrés, Washington, DC; Dan Barber, Blue Hill, NYC; Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles; Frank Stitt, Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL.

Outstanding Restaurant Award: Boulevard, San Francisco; Campanile, Los Angeles; Gramercy Tavern, NYC; Jean Georges, NYC; The Slanted Door, San Francisco.

Best New Restaurant: Anthos, NYC; Central Michel Richard, Washington, DC; Fearing’s at the Ritz Carlton, Dallas; Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles; Osteria, Philadelphia.

Rising Star Chef of the Year Award: Nate Appleman, A 16, San Francisco; Sean Brock, McCrady’s, Charleston, SC; Gavin Kaysen, Café Boulud, NYC; Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, DC; Matt Molina, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles; Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR.

In other awards …. among Television Food Show, National or Local were selected: The Best Recipes in the World with Mark Bittman, Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie and Top Chef Season 3.

Websites of merit were: Chow.com, Epicurious.com and Starchefs.com

The Book Awards as expected, some of them jived with the ones on the IACP list announced last week where as other books are only on the one list or the other. Feel free to compare for yourself.

Among those Cookbooks which stood out as being on both lists (note this is not an all-encompassing group but a partial) were: Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto; Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor by Peter Reinhart; Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich; Love Affair with Southern Cooking: recipes and recollections by Jean Anderson; Rosa’s New Mexican Table; Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook by Jacques Pepin; Cooking by James Peterson; and, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman.

And for all of the rest of the awards and finalists on the long list, visit the Beard Awards here. The Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on June 8, 2008. Likewise, the Cookbook of the Year and Cookbook Hall of Fame will be announced at that time as well.

Best Cookbooks of the Year: The 2008 IACP Cookbook Awards Finalists

Last week the International Association of Culinary Professionals announced their cookbook award finalists. So exactly what are the IACP Awards? To quote Al Dente Blog:

If the James Beard Awards are the “Oscars of the food world,” then that would probably make the IACP awards the gourmet Golden Globes.

Directly from the IACP here’s the list:

2008 IACP Cookbook Awards Finalists

Winners will be announced during the 2008 IACP Awards Ceremony, Friday, April 18 in New Orleans.

American Category - Cookbooks that focus on ethnic, cultural, historic, or regional cooking in the United States

• Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer’s New Orleans by Susan Spicer, Paula Disbrowe
• Love Affair with Southern Cooking: recipes and recollections by Jean Anderson
• The Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-Hearted Holiday Entertaining, Texas Style by Rebecca Rather, Alison Oresman

Bread, Other Baking and Sweets - Cookbooks that focus on bread making, desserts, confections and sweet or savory pastries or doughs

• Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe’s Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader, Lauren Chattman
• Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor by Peter Reinhart
• Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

Chefs and Restaurants Category - California Table Grape Commission Award - Cookbooks by or about chefs, collections of recipe’s from chefs, or books that focus on the cuisine of specific restaurants

• Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges by Jean-Georges Vongerichten
• Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto
• Pier by Greg Doyle, Grant King and Katrina Kanetani

Compilations Category - Cookbooks comprised of material previously published in another format, or compiled by a staff of writers or editors

• Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at the Culinary Institute of America by The Culinary Institute of America and Darra Goldstein
• Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Techniques for the Artisan Confectioner by The Culinary Institute of America and Peter P. Greweling, CMB
• Mark Bittman’s Quick & Easy Recipes from the New York Times by Mark Bittman

First Book: The Julia Child Award - Cookbooks by writers who have not previously authored, co-authored, or significantly contributed to a food or beverage related book

• Elizabeth Falkner’s Demolition Desserts: recipes from Citizen Cake by Elizabeth Falkner
• Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto
• Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey by Efisio Farris, Jim Eber

Food Photography and Styling Category - Awarded to a photographer and stylist for food photography and styling that clearly, accurately and artistically represents the book’s recipes or cooking techniques, enhances the text with stimulating visual images and reflects the overall tone of the book

• Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges - Photographer: Sang An
• Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist - Photographer: Melissa Punch
• Rosa’s New Mexican Table - Photographer: Christopher Hirscheimer

Food Reference/Technical Category - Reference books of culinary terms, histories, techniques or ingredients

• Discover Chocolate: The Ultimate Guide to Buying, Tasting, and Enjoying Fine Chocolates by Clay Gordon
• Food: The History of Taste by Paul Freedman
• Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Oyster Eating in North America by Rowan Jacobsen

General Category - Multiple-subject recipe books, including all-purpose cookbooks and personal recipe collections

• Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook by Jacques Pepin
• Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You A Better Cook by Jamie Oliver
• Cooking by James Peterson

Health and Special Diets Category - Cookbooks and diet books that focus on healthful eating, nutrition, dietary concerns and special or restrictive diets

• Allergy-Free Cookbook by Alice Sherwood
• Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide & Cookbook by Bonnie Sanders Polin, Ph. D., Frances Towner Giedt
• How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman

International Category - The Le Cordon Bleu Award - Cookbooks that focus on foods of a particular geographical region or cultural identity outside the United States

• Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey by Efisio Farris, Jim Eber
• The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan
• Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf

Literary Food Writing Category - The Cuisinart Award - Non-fiction or fiction food or beverage books that are distinguished by the quality of their prose. These books may or may not include recipes

• Beans: A History by Ken Albala
• Julia Child by Laura Shapiro
• The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy by Sasha Issenberg

Single Subject Category - Cookbooks that focus on specific foods, cooking methods, techniques or appliances

• Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood by Paul Johnson
• The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide by Mary Lou Heiss, Robert J. Heiss
• Vegetables: Recipes and Techniques from the World’s Premier Culinary College by The Culinary Institute of America

Wine, Beer or Spirits Category - Books on the history, evaluation or production of alcoholic beverages; mixology; serving or pairing with food

• Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist by A.J. Rathbun
• Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, A Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar by David Wondrich
• The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson