James Beard Awards Season in Full Swing

2019 is a landmark year for the James Beard Foundation. For one, it’s the year that the organization’s sweeping policy change went into effect after announcing measures to make the judging process more transparent and inclusive. Under new CEO Clare Reichenbach,  several changes have been made to the judging and nomination process, including temporarily waiving submission fees for the Book, Broadcast Media, and Design Awards, as well as fees for first-time submissions.

Perhaps as a result, the Foundation reported that this year saw a 14% increase in representation of people of color on the judging panels for the Restaurant & Chef, Book, Broadcast, and Journalism categories. The coveted awards season got off to a great start in late February, when the semifinalists for the closely-followed Restaurant & Chef categories were announced.

Earlier in the month, JBF bestowed the “American Classics” honor to five restaurants, a category first introduced in 1998. The honorees were Pho 79 (Garden Grove, CA), Jim’s Steak and Spaghetti House (Huntington, WV), A&A Bake & Double and Roti Shop (Brooklyn, NY), Sehnert’s Bakery & Bieroc Café (McCook, NE), and Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse (Washington, D.C.)  JBF also honored San Diego’s Lionfish as a “Smart Catch Leader” for increasing sustainability of the seafood supply change.

On March 27, the foundation will announce the final list of nominees for the Chef & Restaurant categories, as well as nominees for the Media and Restaurant and Design Awards, and on May 6, winners will be announced at the 2019 James Beard Awards Gala, which will take place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The restaurant world anticipates the James Beard Awards Gala on May 6, where the bulk of winners will be announced and the celebratory champagne will flow.

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