AWARDS NEWS
The mission of the James Beard Awards® is to recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive.
About the James Beard Awards®
About the James Beard Awards®
Established in 1990 with the first awards given in 1991, the James Beard Awards® are among the nation’s most prestigious honors recognizing leaders in the culinary and food media industries, and those in the broader food systems. All James Beard Award winners receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia. For additional information on the Awards, please visit the Policies page.
Categories, Eligibility, and Submission Guidelines
Categories, Eligibility, and Submission Guidelines
RESTAURANT AND CHEF AWARDS
Restaurant and Chef (Click here for eligibility guidelines. Click here for the voting process.)
- Outstanding Restaurateur
- Outstanding Chef
- Outstanding Restaurant
- Emerging Chef
- Best New Restaurant
- Outstanding Bakery
- Outsanding Pastry Chef or Baker
- Outstanding Hospitality
- Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Outstanding Bar
- Best New Bar
- Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
- Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
- Best Chefs (by region):
- California
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
- Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
- Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)
- Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)
- New York State
- Northeast (CT, MA, ME, MH, RI, VT)
- Northwest & Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
- Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)
- South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)
- Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)
- Texas
- America's Classics
MEDIA AWARDS
- Baking and Desserts
- Beverage with Recipes
- Beverage without Recipes
- Bread
- Food Issues and Advocacy
- General
- International
- Literary Writing
- Reference, History, and Scholarship
- Professional and Restaurant
- Single Subject
- U.S. Foodways
- Vegetable-Focused Cooking
- Visuals
- Cookbook Hall of Fame
- Emerging Voice
- Audio Programming
- Audio Reporting
- Commercial Media
- Competition Visual Media
- Documentary Visual Media
- Docuseries Visual Media
- Instructional Visual Media
- Lifestyle Visual Media
- Social Media Account
- Travel Visual Media
- Emerging Voice
- Broadcast Media Hall of Fame
Journalism (Click here for eligibility guidelines. Click here for the voting process.)
- Beverage
- Columns and Newsletters
- Craig Claiborne Distinguished Criticism Award
- Dining and Travel
- Feature Reporting
- Food Coverage in a General Interest Publication
- Foodways
- Health and Wellness
- Home Cooking
- Innovative Visual Storytelling
- Investigative Reporting
- Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award
- MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award
- Narrative Photography
- Personal Essay with Recipes
- Personal Essay
- Profile
- Emerging Voice
IMPACT AWARDS
Click here for eligibility guidelines.
Open Call Process
Open Call Process
Media Awards (Book, Broadcast Media, and Journalism)
Open Call for Entries are conducted and require a fee of $85.00 per entry (waivers provided upon request). Winners and nominees are selected from the entries.
Restaurant and Chef
Open Call for Recommendations are conducted in addition to recommendations provided by the Awards program’s voting body. Recommendations from the public are reviewed and considered by the Subcommittees when generating the semifinalist list. There are no entry fees for these programs.
Impact Awards
Open Call for Recommendations from the public are reviewed and considered by the Foundation’s Impact Committee. There is no entry fee for this program.
Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year Awards
There is no open call for entries. Prospective candidates are researched and recommended by Awards Committee members, subcommittee members, and judges from all Awards programs.
For all Awards programs: Committees meet after the open call for entries and recommendations close to review and confirm the eligibility of the entries and recommendations. The voting body, including judges chosen for their expertise per program, then review and vote on the entries to determine the nominees and winners, as applicable to each program.
Code of Ethics
Code of Ethics
For information about our Code of Ethics, vetting and ethics process, please click here.
2024 Awards Highlights
2024 Awards Highlights
- Restaurant and Chef Award Winners (livestream, blog post, and/or press release)
- Leadership Award Winners (press release and YouTube playlist)
- Media Award Winners (Livestream, blog post, and/or press release.
- Media Award Nominees (blog post and/or press release)
- Restaurant and Chef Awards Nominees and Achievement Award Honorees (blog post and/or press release)
- Restaurant and Chef Awards Semifinalists (blog post and press release)
- America's Classics Winners (blog post and/or press release)
For press information, please click here.
Follow us on our social channels: @beardfoundation on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #jbfa. For features and stories related to the James Beard Awards click here.
AWARDS KEY DATES
2025 James Beard Awards Presented by Capital One
Media Awards:
June 14, 2025
Impact Awards:
June 15, 2025
Restaurant and Chef Awards:
June 16, 2025
AWARDS KEY DATES
2025 James Beard Awards Presented by Capital One
Media Awards:
June 14, 2025
Impact Awards:
June 15, 2025
Restaurant and Chef Awards:
June 16, 2025
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