The James Beard Foundation is proud to announce the nominees for the 2019 James Beard Awards. The nominees were announced today during a press conference and breakfast at Hugo’s by Hugo Ortega in Houston, co-hosted by Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation, and David Mincberg, chairman of Houston First.
Mincberg represented Houston at the event, speaking on behalf of the city and welcoming the Foundation and its CEO Clare Reichenbach, who made opening remarks and highlighted this year’s theme, “Good Food For GoodTM”. David Whitaker, president and CEO of Choose Chicago, the Awards’ host city, made key remarks and announced Regional Chef Nominees together with Reichenbach. Additionally, James Beard Foundation chief strategy officer Mitchell Davis and James Beard Award winner and chair of the Restaurant and Chef committee Anne Quatrano announced several categories of nominees. The event was streamed live online on the James Beard Foundation website and Twitter feed. James Beard Award winner Hugo Ortega, owner and executive chef of Hugo’s, prepared a breakfast for guests including pork, chicken, and vegetable tamales; zucchini, corn, and poblano quesadillas; pan dulce; red and green chilaquiles; gorditas; and breakfast tacos.
Nominees were announced in nearly 60 categories of the Foundation’s various awards programs, including Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design, and Media. A complete list of nominees can be found at the end of this release, as well as at jamesbeard.org/awards.
About the 2019 James Beard Awards
The 2019 James Beard Awards celebrations begin in New York City on Friday, April 26, 2019, with the James Beard Media Awards. The exclusive event honors the nation’s top cookbook authors, culinary broadcast producers and hosts, and food journalists and will take place at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers.
The events then move to Chicago, beginning with the Leadership Awards dinner on Sunday, May 5, 2019. The dinner, presented in association with Deloitte and hosted by Gail Simmons, will recognize honorees for their work in creating a more healthful, sustainable, and just food world. The James Beard Awards Gala will take place on Monday, May 6, 2019, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson. During the event, which is open to the public, awards for the Restaurant and Chef and Restaurant Design categories will be handed out, along with special achievement awards Humanitarian of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Design Icon, and America’s Classics. A gala reception will immediately follow, featuring chefs and beverage professionals from across the country, including past JBF Award winners and many who are involved in the Foundation’s Impact Programs, from Smart Catch Seafood to Women’s Leadership programs and the James Beard Chefs Bootcamp for Policy and Change. The VIP Dinner chefs, those who cook a multi-course dinner and create an experience in the mezzanine boxes during the Awards show, will be chefs from the esteemed Union Square Hospitality Group.
This year’s theme, “Good Food For GoodTM” is synonymous with the James Beard Foundation’s mission. It is the simple summation of what the organization stands for, from unique and delicious dining experiences at the James Beard House and around the country, to scholarships, mentorships, and a variety of industry programs that educate and empower leaders in the food community. The Foundation has built a platform for chefs and asserted the power of gastronomy to drive behavior, culture, and policy change around food. With this theme, the annual Awards aim to bring attention not only to its deserving winners but to the Foundation’s overall mission as well.
Tickets to the May 6 Awards Gala and April 26 Media Awards dinner are on sale now at jamesbeard.org/awards/tickets. General public tickets are $500; James Beard Foundation member tickets are $425; VIP dinner options available upon request to the box office at 914-231-6180 or boxoffice@jamesbeard.org. Individual tickets for the Media Awards are $350; table for 10, $3,500. Both ceremonies will be broadcast live via the James Beard Foundation’s Twitter @beardfoundation and at jamesbeard.org/awards.
The 2019 James Beard Awards are proudly hosted by Choose Chicago and the Illinois Restaurant Association and presented in association with Chicago O’Hare and Midway International Airports and Magellan Corporation as well as the following partners: Premier Sponsors: All-Clad Metalcrafters, American Airlines, HMSHost, Lavazza, S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water ; Supporting Sponsors: Hyatt, National Restaurant Association™, Robert Mondavi Winery, Skuna Bay Salmon, TABASCO® Sauce, Valrhona, White Claw® Hard Seltzer, Windstar Cruises; Gala Reception Sponsors: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Ecolab, Front of the House®, Kendall College, with additional support from Chefwear, Loacker and VerTerra Dinnerware. Intersport is the Official Broadcast Partner of the 2019 James Beard Awards.
Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and further the Foundation’s mission to celebrate, nurture, and honor chefs and other leaders making America’s food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone. Each award category has an individual committee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedures, and selection of judges for their respective Awards programs. All James Beard Award winners receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia.
About the James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation’s mission is to promote good food for good™. For more than 30 years, the James Beard Foundation has highlighted the centrality of food culture in our daily lives. Through the James Beard Awards, unique dining experiences at the James Beard House and around the country, scholarships, hands-on learning, and a variety of industry programs that educate and empower leaders in our community, the Foundation has built a platform for chefs and asserted the power of gastronomy to drive behavior, culture, and policy change around food. To that end, the Foundation has also created signature impact-oriented initiatives that include our Women’s Leadership Programs, aimed at addressing the gender imbalance in the culinary industry; advocacy training through our Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change; and the James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards, which shine a spotlight on successful change makers. The organization is committed to giving chefs and their colleagues a voice and the tools they need to make the world more sustainable, equitable, and delicious for everyone. For more information, please visit jamesbeard.org and follow @beardfoundation on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
2019 James Beard Foundation Awards Nominees
2019 James Beard Foundation Book Awards
For cookbooks and other non-fiction food- or beverage-related books that were published in the U.S.
in 2018. Winners will be announced on April 26, 2019.
The winner of the Book of the Year Award and the Cookbook Hall of Fame inductee will be announced on April 26, 2019.
American
Books with recipes focused on the cooking or foodways of regions or communities in the United States.
A Common Table: 80 Recipes and Stories from My Shared Cultures
Cynthia Chen McTernan
(Rodale)
Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day
JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls
(Flatiron Books)
Sweet Home Café Cookbook: A Celebration of African American Cooking
Albert G. Lukas and Jessica B. Harris
(Smithsonian Books)
Baking and Desserts
Books with recipes focused on breads, pastries, desserts, and other treats.
Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing
Jerrelle Guy
(Page Street Publishing Co.)
Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies
Cathy Barrow
(Grand Central Publishing)
SUQAR: Desserts & Sweets from the Modern Middle East
Greg Malouf and Lucy Malouf
(Hardie Grant Books)
Beverage
Books with or without recipes focused on beverages, such as cocktails, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, or juices.
Apéritif: Cocktail Hour the French Way
Rebekah Peppler
(Clarkson Potter)
The Aviary Cocktail Book
Grant Achatz, Nick Kokonas, Micah Melton, Allen Hemberger, and Sarah Hemberger
(The Alinea Group)
Cocktail Codex
Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, and David Kaplan
(Ten Speed Press)
General
Books with recipes that address a broad scope of cooking, not just a single topic, technique, or region.
Everyday Dorie
Dorie Greenspan
(Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Milk Street: Tuesday Nights
Christopher Kimball
(Little, Brown and Company)
Ottolenghi Simple
Yotam Ottolenghi
(Ten Speed Press)
Health and Special Diets
Books with recipes that focus on improving health and nutrition, or that address specific health issues, such as allergies or diabetes.
The Complete Diabetes Cookbook
Editors at America’s Test Kitchen
(America’s Test Kitchen)
Eat a Little Better
Sam Kass
(Clarkson Potter)
More with Less
Jodi Moreno
(Roost Books)
International
Books with recipes focused on food or cooking traditions of countries or regions outside of the United States.
Feast: Food of the Islamic World
Anissa Helou
(Ecco)
The Food of Northern Thailand
Austin Bush
(Clarkson Potter)
I Am a Filipino
Nicole Ponseca and Miguel Trinidad
(Artisan Books)
Photography
Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food
Nik Sharma
(Chronicle Books)
Tokyo New Wave
Andrea Fazzari
(Ten Speed Press)
Wild: Adventure Cookbook
Luisa Brimble
(Prestel Publishing)
Reference, History, and Scholarship
Includes manuals, guides, encyclopedias, and books that present research related to food or foodways.
Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry
Anna Zeide
(University of California Press)
Catfish Dream: Ed Scott’s Fight for His Family Farm and Racial Justice in the Mississippi Delta
Julian Rankin
(University of Georgia Press)
Creole Italian: Sicilian Immigrants and the Shaping of New Orleans Food Culture
Justin Nystrom
(University of Georgia Press)
Restaurant and Professional
Books written by a culinary professional or restaurant chef with recipes that may include advanced cooking techniques, using specialty ingredients and professional equipment, including culinary arts textbooks.
Chicken and Charcoal: Yakitori, Yardbird, Hong Kong
Matt Abergel
(Phaidon Press)
From the Earth: World’s Great, Rare and Almost Forgotten Vegetables
Peter Gilmore
(Hardie Grant Books)
Rich Table
Evan Rich and Sarah Rich
(Chronicle Books)
Single Subject
Books with recipes focused on a single or category of ingredients, a dish, or a method of cooking.
Bread & Butter: History, Culture, Recipes
Richard Snapes, Grant Harrington, and Eve Hemingway
(Quadrille Publishing)
Goat: Cooking and Eating
James Whetlor
(Quadrille Publishing)
Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces
Bill Kim
(Ten Speed Press)
Vegetable-Focused Cooking
Books on vegetable cookery with recipes including vegetarian or vegan cooking.
Almonds, Anchovies, and Pancetta: A Vegetarian Cookbook, Kind Of
Cal Peternell
(William Morrow Cookbooks)
Saladish
Ilene Rosen
(Artisan Books)
Vegetarian Viet Nam
Cameron Stauch
(W. W. Norton & Company)
Writing
Narrative nonfiction books including memoirs, culinary tourism, investigative journalism, food advocacy, and critical analysis of food and foodways for a general audience.
Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine
Edward Lee
(Artisan Books)
Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat
Jonathan Kauffman
(William Morrow)
Pasta, Pane, Vino: Deep Travels Through Italy’s Food Culture
Matt Goulding
(Harper Wave/Anthony Bourdain)
2019 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Awards
For radio, television broadcasts, podcasts, webcasts, and documentaries appearing in 2018. Winners will be announced on April 26, 2019.
Documentary
Chef Flynn
Airs on: Hulu, iTunes, and YouTube
Funke
Airs on: LA Film Festival and Vimeo
Modified
Airs on: Film festivals and Vimeo
Online Video, Fixed Location and/or Instructional
Handcrafted – How to Make Handmade Soba Noodles
Airs on: Bon Appétit
Mad Genius – Crispy Cheese Sticks; Waffled Okonomiyaki; and Puff Pastry
Airs on: Food & Wine, YouTube, and Facebook
MasterClass – Dominique Ansel Teaches French Pastry Fundamentals
Airs on: MasterClass
Online Video, on Location
First We Feast’s Food Skills – Mozzarella Kings of New York
Airs on: YouTube
Kitchen Unnecessary – Fire Morels
Airs on: YouTube, Facebook
NPR Foraging – Eating Wild Sea Creatures; You Can Eat Dandelions; and The Hunt for Morels
Airs on: NPR
Outstanding Personality
Samin Nosrat
Salt Fat Acid Heat
Airs on: Netflix
Marcus Samuelsson
No Passport Required
Airs on: PBS
Molly Yeh
Girl Meets Farm
Airs on: Food Network
Outstanding Reporting
Deep Dive and Food for Thought, 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics
Reporter: David Chang
Airs on: NBC, NBCSN
In Real Life – Why You MUST Try Native American Cuisine
Reporter: Yara Elmjouie
Airs on: YouTube, AJ+
The Sporkful – Yewande Finds Her Super Power
Reporter: Dan Pashman
Airs on: Stitcher
Podcast
Copper & Heat – Be a Girl
Airs on: Copper & Heat, iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher
The Feed – Paletas and Other Icy Treats
Airs on: PodcastOne
Racist Sandwich – Erasing Black Barbecue
Airs on: iTunes, Racist Sandwich, and Stitcher
Radio Show
California Foodways – Providing a Taste of Oaxaca to Central Valley; Can Ag and Wildlife Co-Exist? Rice Farmers Think So; and Frozen Burrito Royalty in the Central Valley
Airs on: KQED, California Foodways
The Food Chain – Raw Grief and Widowed
Airs on: BBC World Service
KCRW’s Good Food – Remembering Jonathan Gold
Airs on: KCRW
Special (on TV or Online)
Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown – Little Los Angeles
Airs on: CNN, Explore Parts Unknown, Roads & Kingdoms
Spencer’s BIG Holiday
Airs on: Gusto
Taste Buds – Chefsgiving
Airs on: ABC
Television Program, in Studio or Fixed Location
Barefoot Contessa: Cook Like a Pro – Mary Poppins Show
Airs on: Food Network
Good Eats: Reloaded – Steak Your Claim
Airs on: Cooking Channel
Pati’s Mexican Table – Tijuana: Stories from the Border
Airs on: WETA Washington; Distributed Nationally by American Public Television
Television Program, on Location
The Migrant Kitchen – Man’oushe
Airs on: KCET and Link TV
Salt Fat Acid Heat – Salt
Airs on: Netflix
Ugly Delicious – Fried Chicken
Airs on: Netflix
Visual and Technical Excellence
Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown
Yuki Aizawa, Sarah Hagey, Nathalie Karouni, Kate Kunath and August Thurmer
Airs on: CNN, Explore Parts Unknown, Roads & Kingdoms
Chef’s Table
Will Basanta, Adam Bricker, and Danny O’Malley
Airs on: Netflix
From The Wild – Season 4
Kevin Kossowan
Airs on: Vimeo
2019 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards
For articles published in English in 2018. Winners will be announced on April 26, 2019.
Publication of the Year will be decided by members of the James Beard Awards Journalism Committee and will be announced at the awards ceremony.
Columns
America’s Best Worst Cook: “Hi, I’m America’s Best Worst Cook”; “Dear Chefs, Will Eating This Kill Me?” and “How to Roast a Chicken? The Answers Are Horrifying.”
JJ Goode
Taste
Local Fare: “The Question of Dinner”; “Dixie Vodka”; and “Folk Witness”
John T. Edge
Oxford American
What We Talk About When We Talk About American Food: “The Pickled Cucumbers That Survived the 1980s AIDS Epidemic”; “A Second Look at the Tuna Sandwich’s All-American History”; and “Freedom and Borscht for Ukrainian-Jewish Émigrés”
Mari Uyehara
Taste
Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award
Counter Intelligence: “The Hearth & Hound, April Bloomfield’s New Los Angeles Restaurant, Is Nothing Like a Gastropub”; “There’s Crocodile and Hog Stomach, but Jonathan Gold Is All About the Crusty Rice at Nature Pagoda”; and “At Middle Eastern Restaurants, It All Starts with Hummus. Jonathan Gold says Bavel’s Is Magnificent”
Jonathan Gold
Los Angeles Times
“The Fire Gods of Washington, D.C.”; “David Chang’s Majordomo Is No Minor Feat”; and “North America’s Best Cantonese Food Is in Canada”
Bill Addison
Eater
“The Four Seasons Returns. But Can It Come Back?” “Why David Chang Matters”; and “A Celebration of Black Southern Food, at JuneBaby in Seattle”
Pete Wells
The New York Times
Dining and Travel
Chau Down: “A New Orleans Food Diary”; “A Portland Food Diary”; and “A Chicago Food Diary”
Danny Chau
The Ringer
“Dim Sum Is Dead, Long Live Dim Sum”
Max Falkowitz
Airbnb Magazine
“Many Chinas, Many Tables”
Jonathan Kauffman and Team
San Francisco Chronicle
Feature Reporting
“Big in Japan”
Tejal Rao
The New York Times Magazine
“A Kingdom from Dust”
Mark Arax
The California Sunday Magazine
“Shell Game: Saving Florida’s Oysters Could Mean Killing a Way of Life”
Laura Reiley and Eve Edelheit
Tampa Bay Times
Food Coverage in a General Interest Publication
New York Magazine
Robin Raisfeld, Rob Patronite, Maggie Bullock, and the Staff of New York Magazine
Roads & Kingdoms
Nathan Thornburgh, Matt Goulding, Anup Kaphle, and the Roads & Kingdoms Team
T: The New York Times Style Magazine
Kurt Soller, Hanya Yanagihara, and the Staff of T Magazine
Foodways
“Back to Where It All Began: I Had Never Eaten in Ghana Before. But My Ancestors Had.”
Michael W. Twitty
Bon Appétit
“A Hunger for Tomatoes”
Shane Mitchell
The Bitter Southerner
“What is Northern Food?”
Steve Hoffman
Artful Living
Health and Wellness
“Clean Label’s Dirty Little Secret”
Nadia Berenstein
The New Food Economy
“The Last Conversation You’ll Ever Need to Have About Eating Right” and “The Last Conversation You’ll Need to Have on Eating Right: The Follow-ups”
Mark Bittman and David L. Katz
New York Magazine / Grub Street
“‘White People Food’ Is Creating An Unattainable Picture Of Health”
Kristen Aiken
HuffPost
Home Cooking
“Melissa Clark’s Thanksgiving”
Melissa Clark
The New York Times
“The Subtle Thrills of Cold Chicken Salad”
Cathy Erway
Taste
“Top Secret Ingredients”
Kathleen Purvis
Garden & Gun
Innovative Storytelling
“In Search of Water-Boiled Fish”
Angie Wang
Eater
“100 Most Jewish Foods”
Alana Newhouse
Tablet Magazine
“What’s in a Food Truck?”
Bonnie Berkowitz, Seth Blanchard, Aaron Steckelberg, and Monica Ulmanu
The Washington Post
Investigative Reporting
“‘It’s Not Fair, Not Right’: How America Treats Its Black Farmers”
Debbie Weingarten and Audra Mulkern
The Guardian and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project
“A Killing Season”
Boyce Upholt
The New Republic
“Victims Blame FDA for Food-Recall Failures”
Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan
Politico
Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award
“Storied Ovens”; “Food Outside the U.S. Open Gates”; and “A New Destination for Chinese Food: Not Flushing, but Forest Hills”
Max Falkowitz
The New York Times; Plate Magazine
“My Dinner at the Playboy Club”; “Curry and Roti Destination Singh’s Lights Up Queens”; and “Where New Yorkers Actually Eat in Times Square”
Robert Sietsema
Eater NY
“Yes Indeed, Lord: Queen’s Cuisine, Where Everything Comes from the Heart”; “Top 10 New Orleans Restaurants for 2019”; and “Sexual Harassment Allegations Preceded Sucré Co-Founder Tariq Hanna’s Departure”
Brett Anderson
Nola.com | The Times-Picayune
M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award
“A Kingdom from Dust”
Mark Arax
The California Sunday Magazine
“The Poet’s Table”
Mayukh Sen
Poetry Foundation
“What Is Northern Food?”
Steve Hoffman
Artful Living
Personal Essay, Long Form
“I Made the Pizza Cinnamon Rolls from Mario Batali’s Sexual Misconduct Apology Letter”
Geraldine DeRuiter
Everywhereist.com
“Need to Find Me? Ask My Ham Man”
Catherine Down
The New York Times
“Writing an Iranian Cookbook in an Age of Anxiety”
Naz Deravian
The Atlantic
Personal Essay, Short Form
“Doritos is Developing Lady-Friendly Chips Because You Should Never Hear a Woman Crunch”
Maura Judkis
The Washington Post
“I’m a Chef with Terminal Cancer. This Is What I’m Doing with the Time I Have Left”
Fatima Ali
Bon Appétit
“Savoring the School Lunch”
Rebekah Denn
The Seattle Times
Profile
“Heaven Was a Place in Harlem”
Vince Dixon
Eater
“The Short and Brilliant Life of Ernest Matthew Mickler”
Michael Adno
The Bitter Southerner
“‘You Died’: The Resurrection of a Cook in the Heart of SF’s Demanding Culinary Scene”
Jonathan Kauffman
San Francisco Chronicle
Wine, Spirits, and Other Beverages
“The Gulp War”
Dave Stroup
Eater
“‘Welch’s Grape Jelly with Alcohol’: How Trump’s Horrific Wine Became the Ultimate Metaphor for His Presidency”
Corby Kummer
Vanity Fair
“Why Is the Wine World So Un-Woke?”
Jon Bonné
Punch
2019 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Design Awards
Winners will be announced on May 6, 2019.
75 Seats and Under
For the best restaurant design or renovation in North America since January 1, 2016.
- Firms: Heliotrope Architects and Price Erickson Interior Design
Project: Willmott’s Ghost, Seattle
- Firm: Roman and Williams
Project: La Mercerie, NYC
- Firm: Studio Writers
Project: Atomix, NYC
76 Seats and Over
For the best restaurant design or renovation in North America since January 1, 2016.
- Firm: Land and Sea Dept.
Project: Lonesome Rose, Chicago
- Firm: studio razavi architecture
Project: Boqueria, NYC
- Firm: Parts and Labor Design
Project: Pacific Standard Time, Chicago
Other Eating and Drinking Places
Eligible establishments include bars, quick service and fast casual restaurants, diners, counter service, food trucks and food halls, ice cream and cake shops, pop-ups, take-out counters, and coffee bars and shops completed or renovated since January 1, 2016.
- Firm: AvroKO
Project: China Live, San Francisco
- Firm: Schwartz and Architecture (S^A)
Project: El Pípila, San Francisco
- Firm: Summer Ops
Project: Island Oyster, NYC
Design Icon
Canlis
Seattle
2019 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards
Winners will be announced on May 6, 2019.
Best New Restaurant
A restaurant opened in 2018 that already demonstrates excellence in cuisine and hospitality, and that is likely to make a significant impact in years to come.
- Angler, San Francisco
- Atomix, NYC
- Bavel, Los Angeles
- Frenchette, NYC
- Majordomo, Los Angeles
Outstanding Baker
A pastry chef or baker who demonstrates exceptional skill, integrity, and character in the preparation of desserts, pastries, or breads served in a retail bakery. Must have been working as a pastry chef or baker for the past five years.
- Zachary Golper, Bien Cuit, NYC
- Maura Kilpatrick, Sofra Bakery and Café, Cambridge, MA
- Lisa Ludwinski, Sister Pie, Detroit
- Avery Ruzicka, Manresa Bread, Los Gatos, CA
- Greg Wade, Publican Quality Bread, Chicago
Outstanding Bar Program
A restaurant or bar that demonstrates exceptional care and skill in the selection, preparation, and serving of cocktails, spirits, and/or beer.
- Bar Agricole, San Francisco
- Dead Rabbit, NYC
- Kimball House, Decatur, GA
- Lost Lake, Chicago
- Ticonderoga Club, Atlanta
Outstanding Chef (Presented by All-Clad Metalcrafters)
A chef who sets high culinary standards and who has served as a positive example for other food professionals. Must have been working as a chef for the past five years.
- Ashley Christensen, Poole’s Diner, Raleigh, NC
- David Kinch, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
- Corey Lee, Benu, San Francisco
- Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans
- Marc Vetri, Vetri Cucina, Philadelphia
Outstanding Pastry Chef (Presented by Lavazza)
A pastry chef or baker who demonstrates exceptional skill, integrity, and character in the preparation of desserts, pastries, or breads served in a restaurant. Must have been working as a pastry chef or baker for the past five years.
- Juan Contreras, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
- Kelly Fields, Willa Jean, New Orleans
- Meg Galus, Boka, Chicago
- Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles
- Pichet Ong, Brothers and Sisters, Washington, D.C.
Outstanding Restaurant (Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water)
A restaurant that demonstrates consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, service, and operations. Must have been in business 10 or more consecutive years.
- Balthazar, NYC
- FIG, Charleston, SC
- Jaleo, Washington, D.C.
- Quince, San Francisco
- Zahav, Philadelphia
Outstanding Restaurateur (Presented by Magellan Corporation)
A restaurateur who demonstrates creativity in entrepreneurship and integrity in restaurant operations. Must have been in the restaurant business for at least 10 years. Must not have been nominated for a James Beard Foundation chef award in the past five years.
- Hugh Acheson, Atlanta (Empire State South, Five & Ten, The National, and others)
- Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago (Boka, Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, and others)
- JoAnn Clevenger, Upperline, New Orleans
- Ken Oringer, Boston (Little Donkey, Toro, Uni, and others)
- Alex Raij and Eder Montero, NYC (La Vara, Txikito, Saint Julivert Fisherie, and others)
- Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group, Philadelphia (Fork, High Street on Market, High Street on Hudson)
Outstanding Service
A restaurant in operation for five or more years that demonstrates consistency and exceptional thoughtfulness in hospitality and service.
- Brigtsen’s, New Orleans
- Canlis, Seattle
- Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO
- Saison, San Francisco
- Swan Oyster Depot, San Francisco
- Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI
Outstanding Wine Program (Presented by Robert Mondavi Winery)
A restaurant or bar that demonstrates excellence in wine service through a carefully considered wine list and a well-informed approach to helping customers choose and drink wine.
- Bacchanal, New Orleans
- Benu, San Francisco
- Miller Union, Atlanta
- Night + Market, Los Angeles
- Spiaggia, Chicago
Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Producer
A beer, wine, or spirits producer who demonstrates consistency and exceptional skill in his or her craft.
- Cathy Corison, Corison Winery, St. Helena, CA
- Ann Marshall and Scott Blackwell, High Wire Distilling Co., Charleston, SC
- Steve Matthiasson, Matthiasson Wines, Napa, CA
- Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME
- Lance Winters, St. George Spirits, Alameda, CA
Rising Star Chef of the Year (Presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water)
A chef age 30 or younger who displays exceptional talent, character, and leadership ability, and who is likely to make a significant impact in years to come.
- Ana Castro, Coquette, New Orleans
- Alisha Elenz, MFK, Chicago
- Alexander Hong, Sorrel, San Francisco
- Jesse Ito, Royal Izakaya, Philadelphia
- Kwame Onwuachi, Kith and Kin, Washington, D.C.
- Jonathan Yao, Kato, Los Angeles
Best Chefs
Chefs who set high culinary standards and also demonstrate integrity and admirable leadership skills in their respective regions. A nominee may be from any kind of dining establishment but must have been working as a chef for at least five years, with the three most recent years spent in the region.
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
- Diana Dávila, Mi Tocaya Antojería, Chicago
- Jason Hammel, Lula Café, Chicago
- Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, Parachute, Chicago
- David Posey and Anna Posey, Elske, Chicago
- Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago
- Lee Wolen, Boka, Chicago
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (D.C., DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
- Amy Brandwein, Centrolina, Washington, D.C.
- Tom Cunanan, Bad Saint, Washington, D.C.
- Rich Landau, Vedge, Philadelphia
- Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia
- Cindy Wolf, Charleston, Baltimore
Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
- Michael Corvino, Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room, Kansas City, MO
- Michael Gallina, Vicia, St. Louis
- Ann Kim, Young Joni, Minneapolis
- Jamie Malone, Grand Café, Minneapolis
- Christina Nguyen, Hai Hai, Minneapolis
Best Chef: New York City (Five Boroughs)
- Sean Gray, Momofuku Ko
- Brooks Headley, Superiority Burger
- Daniela Soto-Innes, Atla
- Alex Stupak, Empellón Midtown
- Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, Via Carota
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY State, RI, VT)
- Tiffani Faison, Tiger Mama, Boston
- James Mark, North, Providence
- Tony Messina, Uni, Boston
- Cassie Piuma, Sarma, Somerville, MA
- Benjamin Sukle, Oberlin, Providence
Best Chef: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY)
- Peter Cho, Han Oak, Portland, OR
- Katy Millard, Coquine, Portland, OR
- Brady Williams, Canlis, Seattle
- Justin Woodward, Castagna, Portland, OR
- Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle
Best Chef: South (AL, AR, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, FL, LA, MS)
- Vishwesh Bhatt, Snackbar, Oxford, MS
- Jose Enrique, Jose Enrique, San Juan, PR
- Kristen Essig and Michael Stoltzfus, Coquette, New Orleans
- Slade Rushing, Brennan’s, New Orleans
- Isaac Toups, Toups’ Meatery, New Orleans
Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
- Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, GA
- Katie Button, Cúrate, Asheville, NC
- Cassidee Dabney, The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN
- Ryan Smith, Staplehouse, Atlanta
- Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Memphis
Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, CO, NM, OK, TX, UT)
- Charleen Badman, FnB, Scottsdale, AZ
- Kevin Fink, Emmer & Rye, Austin
- Michael Fojtasek, Olamaie, Austin
- Bryce Gilmore, Barley Swine, Austin
- Steve McHugh, Cured, San Antonio
Best Chef: West (CA, HI, NV)
- Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
- Jeremy Fox, Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica, CA
- Jessica Koslow, Sqirl, Los Angeles
- Travis Lett, Gjelina, Venice, CA
- Joshua Skenes, Saison, San Francisco
2019 James Beard Foundation America’s Classics
Pho 79
Garden Grove, CA
Owners: Tong Trần and Liễu Trần
Jim’s Steak & Spaghetti House
Huntington, WV
Owners: Jimmie Carder, Larry Tweel, and Ron Tweel
A&A Bake & Double Roti Shop
Brooklyn, NY
Owners: Noel and Geeta Brown
Sehnert’s Bakery & Bieroc Café
McCook, NE
Owners: Matt and Shelly Sehnert
Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse
Washington, D.C.
Owner: Paul Katinas
2019 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year
The Giving Kitchen
Non-profit that provides emergency assistance to food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources.
2019 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
Patrick O’Connell
Multiple James Beard Award–Winning Chef; Chef & Owner, The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, VA
