A yearly rite of spring among chefs, restaurateurs and numerous other professionals in the food and beverage industry is the annual awards gala of the James Beard Foundation. Not unlike Oscar, Grammy or Emmy, the Beard Awards are considered among the highest honors for a food or beverage professional to receive.
The awards, named for the prolific cookbook author, culinary teacher and pioneering celebrity chef, are presented each May in New York City. Since their inception in 1990, several local and regional chefs and restaurateurs have received James Beard Awards. More have received nominations. Bruce Tillinghast of New Rivers was nominated several years ago for Best Chef in the Northeast.
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George Germon and Johanne Killeen of Al Forno won the regional award in 1993. Al Forno has won James Beard awards as “Rising Star of America,” and “Great Regional Chef.” Iconic Rhode Island clam emporium Aunt Carrie’s has a James Beard as one of “America’s Classics.” And local food writer Linda Beaulieu and former local reviewer Meridith Ford – now writing about food in Atlanta – have both been nominated for past James Beard journalism awards.
This year’s nominating class included many familiar names. Bruce Tillinghast was nominated for Best Chef-Northeast, as was chef Sai Viswanath of DeWolf Tavern in Bristol. On the regional scene, restaurateur Roger Berkowitz received a nomination as Outstanding Restaurateur for his iconic Legal Sea Foods seafood eateries. None made the list of finalists announced last week, however.
Out in Los Angeles, Johnson & Wales University alumna chef Suzanne Goin is a finalist for Outstanding Chef for her Lucques restaurant in Hollywood. Goin got her start in the kitchen at Al Forno while a J&W student.
The awards were established by the James Beard Foundation in 1990 through the merging of two prominent culinary awards of the time: The R.T. French – as in yellow mustard – Tastemaker Cookbook Awards and Cook’s Magazine and Restaurant Business’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. In 1992, the Journalism Awards were established and awards in media, cookbook writing and restaurant design followed.
For the 2010 awards, this year scheduled for May 2-3, more than 21,000 entries were received. There were semifinalists in 19 categories, some of which included Best Chef in 10 different U.S. regions, Rising Star Chef of the Year, Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional and Best New Restaurant.
The list of semifinalist nominees was then sent to an independent volunteer panel of more than 400 regional restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators and past James Beard Foundation Award winners who cast their votes for the finalists.
At the gala the audience does not hear an award winner say, “I’d like to thank the academy.” The “academy,” as it were, is actually the governing Awards Committee, which does not vote. Neither do the board of trustees or staff of the James Beard Foundation. This point is stressed emphatically by the foundation these days after a scandal in 2004 almost shut down the awards program and nearly brought down the organization itself. A longtime board president pleaded guilty to fraud for diverting foundation funds for his personal use.
Prominent board members such as Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, resigned their positions with the foundation. In the wake of the scandal, some practices related to the award nominations were called into question.
Also called into question at the time was another sought-after honor by the Beard foundation, an invitation to a restaurant chef to cook at the James Beard House in New York City. Numerous Providence chefs have appeared at the old Manhattan brownstone where Beard lived. Recently the former chef of Gracie’s, Joe Hafner, put on a cooking demonstration there.
The controversy developed over whether chefs such as Hafner should be expected to pick up expenses like food and travel for themselves and their staff. At the time, according to news accounts, pressure was on the chefs because a refusal would have hurt their chances of winning one of the prestigious awards. The award competition has since been split off from the foundation and given its own administration.
One aspect of the awards remains a mystery. Even among industry insiders, reference to the awards is fairly formal. Talk in restaurant kitchens and among food writers is along the lines of, “Did you hear so-and-so has been nominated for a James Beard?” Why haven’t they become known as the “Jimmies” or something similar?
It just may be a lasting tribute to a gentleman who is known as “Dean of American Cookery.” •
Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays on WPRV-AM 790 and radio stations throughout New England. He can be reached by e-mail at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
