The following are policies and procedures for the 2024 James Beard Awards. For FAQs, please click here.
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 racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive.
 

Governance, Structure, and Operations

The James Beard Awards consist of the following recognition programs: Media Awards, which include: Book, Broadcast Media and Journalism; Restaurant and Chef Awards, and three Achievement Awards which include: Lifetime Achievement, Humanitarian of the Year and Leadership.   

Voting Body: The Awards Committee, subcommittees and judges comprise the voting body. 

The Awards Committee and Subcommittees: The Awards committee, together and in consultation with the Foundation and its staff, has oversight and administers the James Beard Awards.  This volunteer committee consists of the chairperson from each Awards program subcommittee (Book, Broadcast, Journalism, Leadership and Restaurant and Chef), members of the Foundation's Board of Trustees, and at-large members from the food and beverage, food media and related industries.  

Each Awards program is administered by an independent volunteer subcommittee, together and in consultation with the Foundation and its representatives and subject to the oversight of the Awards Committee and the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. From time to time, as appropriate and in a manner consistent with the strategy and mission of the Foundation, the Board may direct the Awards Committee and the subcommittees to include or exclude any Awards category, or to modify, amend or replace the criteria applicable to any Awards category. Each subcommittee is responsible for having knowledge of, recommending and selecting judges for each program for their experties in their fields. At the end of each cycle, the Foundation publicizes the names of all judges after the Awards ceremony, and in alphabetical order by last name, on its website. Categories in which any individual judged is not revealed.

Click here for information on the Awards program structure.

2024 Awards Committee

  • Chair, Tanya Holland, Chef, Author and Television Personality, Trustee

  • Jeff Cherry, Founder, CEO, and Executive Director, Conscious Venture Lab; Managing General Partner, Conscious Venture Partners, LLC; Founder, CEO, and Managing Partner, The Porter Group, LLC, Trustee

  • Duskie Estes, black pig meat co., Farm to Pantry Bay Area Ranchers Cooperative

  • Elizabeth Falkner, Chef/Creative/Maker, Trustee

  • Cynthia Graubart, Broadcast Media Awards Committee Chair; Cookbook Author; Former Culinary Television Producer

  • Tahiirah Habibi, The Hue Society

  • Bill Kim, Urban Belly Restaurants

  • Lakisha May, Leadership Committee Chair; Artist/Advocate

  • André Natera, Chef; Author, Podcast Host; Chef’s PSA

  • Richy Petrina, Founder, Ithaca Wine Ventures

  • Rochelle Oliver, Journalism Awards Committee Chair; Founder/Managing Editor, islandandspice.com

  • Lauren Saria, Restaurant & Chef Committee Co-Chair; Editor, Eater San Francisco

  • Erica Skolnik, Book Awards Committee Chair; Global Bakery Senior Culinary Program Manager, Whole Foods Market 

  • Allecia Vermillion, Restaurant & Chef Committee Co-Chair; Executive Editor, Seattle Met Magazine

  • Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez, Common Era, Managing Director; Hot Bread Kitchen, Founder, and Author

Process

  • Collection of Entries & Recommendations
    • October 3 – November 30, 2023: The Open Call for Entry and Recommendations period when we collect entry submissions for 2024 Awards cycle categories.

    • The Media Awards (Book, Broadcast Media, and Journalism) conduct Open Call for Entries that require an entry fee of $85.00 per entry. Winners and nominees are selected from the entries. If you are not able to pay this application fee, you may request to have the fee waived with your online application.

    • The Restaurant and Chef and Leadership Awards conduct an Open Call for Recommendations, in addition to recommendations provided by the Awards program’s voting body. Recommendations from the public are reviewed and considered by the Subcommittee when compiling the semifinalist list. There are no entry fees for these programs.

    • There is no open call for entries for the Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year Awards. Prospective candidates are researched and recommended by Awards Committee members, subcommittee members, and judges from all Awards programs.

  • Entry and Recommendation Review
    • After the Open Call for Entries and Recommendations period ends, Committees meet to review and confirm the eligibility of the entries and recommendations.

    • The Voting Body, including judges chosen for their expertise per program, then reviews and votes on the eligible entries to determine the nominees and winners, as applicable to each program. 

    • Thank you to the voting body who participated in the 2023 Awards cycle for the Book, Broadcast, Journalism, Restaurant and Chef, and Leadership programs. View the list here.

  • Awards Announcements
    • Winter announcement: Restaurant and Chef Awards Semifinalists and America's Classics Winners.

    • Early spring announcements: Nominees (finalists) for Media and Restaurant and Chef Awards; Winners for Leadership, Lifetime Achievement Winner, and Humanitarian of the Year Winner.

    • Early June announcements: winners are announced and recognized at the Media Awards, Leadership Awards, and Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremonies.

Impact Statement

The James Beard Awards honor those who are creating exceptional food, food media content and better food systems while demonstrating a commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive.  

As part of every entrant’s Awards application, a short statement is required describing how the entrant’s work aligns with the Foundation’s values: equity, transparency, respect, integrity, and community. Statements can be submitted in the following formats:   

  • Written (150 to 300 words suggested)    
  • Audio (1-2 minutes)    
  • Video (1-2 minutes)    

The statements are reviewed for content and not for language fluency, length, video quality, nor production value.

Candidates’ alignment statements will be reviewed and scored when committees and judges are voting on all the Awards categories.

JAMES BEARD AWARDS PROGRAMS

Book Awards

The Book Awards that are administered by the James Beard Foundation were started in 1966 by French’s Mustard as the R. T. French Tastemaker Awards. They were administered briefly and in turn by Duncan Hines, Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. The James Beard Foundation brought them into the fold in 1990. 
 
2024 Book Awards Committee
  • Chair, Erica Skolnik, Global Bakery Senior Culinary Program Manager, Whole Foods Market
  • Vice Chair, Nancie McDermott, Head, Nancie’s Table 
  • Matthew Armendariz, Commercial Photographer
  • Jennifer Colliau, Owner, Small Hand Foods & Small Hand Cocktails; Beverage Director, The Bon Vivants
  • Cheryl Day, Entrepreneur, Baker, Author, TV & Radio Host, Back in the Day Bakery
  • Rebekah Denn, Contributor, The Seattle Times and others; Editor, PCC Community Markets “Sound Consumer” newspaper
  • Cynthia Greenlee, Historian, Writer, Journalist, The Counter
  • Jenny Hartin, Director of Publicity, Eat Your Books
  • Irvin Lin, Writer, Photographer, Recipe Developer, Blogger, Influencer
  • Therese Nelson, Founder, Black Culinary History
  • Genevieve Villamora, Restaurateur and Writer

 

 

Eligibility

Anyone can submit an entry for consideration during the online open call for entries from October 3 through November 30, 2023. Cookbooks and other non-fiction food or beverage-related books that were published in the U.S. in 2023, are eligible to enter the 2024 James Beard Book Awards. Books from foreign publishers must bear a 2023 U.S. copyright date and/or must have been distributed in the U.S. during 2023.  

Click here to view a full list of categories and eligibility criteria.

The committee reserves the right to remove, combine, or separate categories when appropriate, re-assign categories as appropriate and may disqualify entries due to ineligibility, conflicts of interest or other ethical violations. Additionally, all entries must include an impact statement. 

 

Judges and Judging

The Book Awards subcommittee members and its judges are editors, authors, journalists, and culinary educators.

Judges are recommended by Awards Committee and subcommittee members and are asked to apply annually. Book subcommittee members review applications, select judges and assign them to a category with which they have no conflicts of interest. Judges must have not contributed to a book in the category they are judging during the current Awards year.

There are six judges per category. Committee members do not vote except in limited circumstances, such as for committee selected and Achievement Awards and when a judge is not able to complete their voting, as per Awards Committee and Subcommittee charter and operating procedures, respectively.

Judges are looking for books that contribute to the growing canon of information and knowledge about food and beverage. Content, accuracy, design, and writing style are among the elements considered.

Click here for information on the voting process for Media awards.

 

Committee-Chosen Awards

The Book Awards subcommittee selects the Emerging Voice and Cookbook Hall of Fame winner each year if they determine there is a worthy winner. Entries are not accepted for these two categories.

 

Announcements
 

The nominees are announced during the spring. The winners are announced during the Media Awards ceremony in June.

Broadcast Media Awards

The Broadcast Media Awards were established in 1993 by the James Beard Foundation.

2024 Broadcast Media Awards Committee
  • Chair, Cynthia Graubart, Cookbook Author; Former Culinary Television Producer
  • Monti Carlo, Puerto Rican Chef & Food Media Personality
  • Matthew McIntyre
  • Alan Montecillo, Senior Editor, The Bay Podcast
  • Joanna Pleta, Marketing Consultant
  • Pervaiz Shallwani, Journalist & Trained Chef
  • Jamie Tiampo, President, SeeFood Media
  • Amy Vogler, Wooden Spoon Kitchen
  • Afi Yellow-Duke, Associate Producer, WNYC

 

Eligibility

The Broadcast Media Awards are open to  all non-fiction works in English exemplifying excellence and in keeping with the mission and values of the James Beard Foundation from digital and terrestrial media—radio, television broadcasts, podcasts, documentaries, online sites, social media— covering food and beverage topics appearing widely for the first time in United States in 2023.

Content in another language may be submitted as long as an English translation or English subtitles are also provided. Producers, reporters, writers, hosts, and other people involved in the production submit their work for consideration.

The Broadcast Media subcommittee reviews all entries for eligibility and may disqualify entries, reassign entries to different categories and remove certain categories if they see fit.

Click here to view a full list of categories and eligibility criteria.

 

Judges and Judging

The Broadcast Media Awards subcommittee members and its judges are experts in the Broadcast Media field. Their experience may come from producing, teaching, editing, writing and more.

Judges are recommended by the Awards committee and subcommittee members and are asked to apply annually. The Broadcast Media subcommittee reviews applications, select judges and assign them to a category with which they have no conflicts of interest. Judges must not have contributed to any entry submitted in the category they are judging.

There are a minimum of six judges per category. Committee members do not vote except in limited circumstances, such as for the Emerging Voice committee-selected award, Achievement Awards, or if a judge is not able to complete their voting.

Judges are looking for content, originality, high production values, and a fresh perspective on food and beverage-related topics.

Click here for information on the voting process for Media awards.

 

Committee-Chosen Awards

The Broadcast Media Awards subcommittee selects the Emerging Voice Award winner each year if they determine there is a worthy candidate. Entries will not be accepted for this category.

 

Announcements

The nominees are announced in Spring. The winners are announced during the Media Awards ceremony in June.

 

Journalism Awards

The Journalism Awards were established by the James Beard Foundation in 1992.
 
2024 Journalism Awards Committee
  • Chair, Rochelle Oliver, Founder/Managing Editor, islandspice.com

  • Vice Chair, Brigid Washington

  • Steven Alvarez, Professor of English, St. John’s University

  • Victoria Bouloubasis, Journalist and Filmmaker

  • Tracy Brown, Chief Content Officer, Chicago Public Media

  • Zahir Janmohamed, Visiting Assistant Professor of English, Bowdoin College; Co-Founder of Racist Sandwich Podcast

  • Maura Judkis, Reporter, Washington Post

  • Krishnendu Ray, Professor, New York University

  • John Yearwood, Editorial Director, Diversity & Culture

 

Eligibility

The Journalism Awards are open to any work published in the United States in 2023 and in any medium, by a media organization, institution or self-publication. Entries must be in English and cover food- or drink- related topics. If you would like to enter an article in a foreign language, a translation to English must also be provided.  

Click here to view a full list of categories and eligibility criteria.

The Journalism subcommittee reviews all entries for eligibility and may disqualify entries, reassign entries to different categories and remove certain categories if they see fit.

 

Judges and Judging

The Journalism Awards subcommittee members and judges may consist of working editors, journalists, retired food and beverage editors and writers, as well as deans of and professors at leading journalism schools or departments at colleges and universities.

There are approximately six judges per category. Committee members do not vote except in limited circumstances, such as for committee selected and Achievement Awards and when a judge is not able to complete their voting.

The judges are looking for accurate, insightful reporting, exceptional stories, unusual perspectives, and other attributes of fine journalism as they pertain to food and beverage topics.

Click here for information on the voting process for Media awards.

 

Committee-Chosen Awards

The Journalism Awards Committee selects the Emerging Voice Award winner each year if they determine there is a worthy candidate. Entries will not be accepted for this category.

 

Announcements

The nominees are announced in spring. The winners are announced during the Media Awards ceremony in June.

 

Restaurant and Chef Awards

The Restaurant and Chef awards were established by the James Beard Foundation in 1990; the first ceremony took place in 1991.  

2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee
  • Co-Chair, Lauren Saria, Editor, Eater San Francisco

  • Co-Chair, Allecia Vermillion, Executive Editor, Seattle Met Magazine

  • Vice Chair, Erinn Tucker, PhD, Professor, Director, Georgetown University

  • Secretary, Amanda Faison, Freelance food writer and cookbook editor

  • Cedric Angeles, Photographer / Director

  • Emma Balter, Chron.com

  • Myron Beasley, Professor, Bates College

  • Stephanie Burnette, Food & Travel Writer (Editorial)

  • Felicia Campbell, Food, Dining and Nightlife Editor, The Arizona Republic/Gannett

  • Gabriel Chabran, Associate Editor, Food and Culture

  • Martha Cheng, Writer / Self Employed, Honolulu Magazine

  • Lindsay Christians, Food Editor, The Capital Times

  • Liz Cook, The Pitch

  • Serena Maria Daniels, Founder/Editor, Tostada Magazine

  • Dawn Davis, Senior Vice President and Publisher, 37 Ink; Executive Editor, Simon & Schuster

  • Stella Fong, Freelance Writer, Montana Food Section, Radio Host, Yellowstone Public Radio

  • Alexa Gagosz, Journalist, Boston Globe

  • Kysha Harris, Entrepreneur; Food Editor, SCHOP!

  • Mary-Frances Heck, Senior Brand Manager, Outside, Inc.

  • Craig Laban, Restaurant Critic, The Philadelphia Inquirer

  • Adrian Lipscombe, Chef

  • Nikki Miller-Ka, Food Writer, Foodandwine.com

  • José Ralat, Taco Editor, Texas Monthly

  • Adam Reiner, Hospitality Professional/Blogger, The Restaurant Manifesto

  • Brian Schwartz, Food Writer, Oklahoma Magazine

  • Ashok Selvam, Editor, Eater Chicago

 

Call for Recommendations

Subcommittee members and judges research and submit recommendations for all categories. In addition, industry members and the public are invited to submit a recommendation for a chef or restaurant who exemplifies excellence in their craft and represents the vast diversity of cuisines, foodways, beverages, and styles that make up the culinary landscape of America. Recommendations are reviewed by the subcommittee for consideration when creating the ballot of semifinalists. The entries are not official nominations. There is no entry fee to submit a recommendation.

 

Eligibility

As of the 2023 Awards cycle, the Restaurant and Chef Awards defines the annual eligibility timeframe as October through September (formerly January through December), to allow the voting body more time to consider businesses opening later in the calendar year.  For the June 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards, the eligibility time frame will be October 1, 2022 through September 2023. Businesses opening after September 30, 2023 will be under consideration for the June 2025 Awards.   

Click here to view a full list of categories and eligibility criteria. 

 

Judges and Judging

The Restaurant and Chef Awards voting body comprises members who have the ability to independently evaluate chefs and restaurants. Subcommittee members are either national representatives or regional and are divided evenly among the Award regions. Regional subcommittee members live in their assigned regions and national subcommittee members are frequent travelers who are up-to-date on the national food trends. Members include food and beverage writers, critics, editors, book authors, media producers, food studies scholars, and culinary instructors. Others who could also qualify include: food studies scholars, former chefs, restaurateurs, and diners from other professional backgrounds with knowledge of the restaurant scene in their region.

In addition to the subcommittee, the Restaurant and Chef voting body consists of judges who are responsible for surfacing new restaurants and talent for consideration, tasting food and/or beverages of the semifinalists and nominees, participating in committee-led discussions regarding dining experiences, and voting for winners on various criteria as determined by the subcommittee. Judges receive a dining stipend from the Foundation to facilitate restaurant tastings.

As of 2022, previous winners of the Restaurant and Chef Awards do not automatically join the voting body. Previous winners from the last three (3) years can be selected by the subcommittee to serve as judges.

The subcommittee produces a ballot with approximately 20 semifinalists in each category (30 for Best New Restaurant). These semifinalists are announced in winter. Judges and subcommittee members are assigned semifinalists in their region for tasting. They participate in discussions to share their dining experiences, then score each semifinalist on various criteria as determined by the subcommittee. The five semifinalists with the highest average score per category (10 for Best New Restaurant category) are announced as the nominees.

The nominees in each category are announced during the spring.

Judges and subcommittee members conduct additional tastings where possible,  participate in another series of discussions to share their dining experiences, then vote for winners. The top scoring nominee per category is announced as the winner.

Click here for information on the voting process for the Restaurant and Chef Awards.

 

Criteria for Restaurant and Chef Awards

The James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards honor members of the American food, beverage, and hospitality industries who demonstrate excellence in their respective fields. Winners show exceptional talent and creativity in their craft and commendable leadership among their colleagues and peers. The James Beard Foundation is dedicated to promoting a strong, safe, inclusive, ethical food community, and these Awards reflect those values.

To remain current with the constantly evolving restaurant demographics across the country, every few years the James Beard Foundation takes a deeper look at how its Awards regions are distributed. Regions were recently redistributed in September 2019 after an in-depth analysis performed with the help of outside data consultants. These regions will remain the same for the 2024 Awards.

As the pandemic continues to have a lasting effect on the industry throughout the country, the Foundation will continue to evaluate its Awards regions.

 

Committee-Chosen Awards

Each year, the Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee submits recommendations for, discusses, votes on, and selects the America’s Classics winners. Six of the 12 regions are included within each Awards cycle and rotated the next cycle so that each region is included every other year. The public may submit recommendations for this category and committee members make the ultimate decision.

 

Achievement Awards

The James Beard Awards comprises three achievement Awards: Leadership Awards, which awards five candidates and has a dedicated subcommittee and voting body, as well as the Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year Awards, administered by the Awards Committee. 
 

Leadership Awards 

The Leadership Awards were established in 2011 by The James Beard Foundation.
 
2024 Leadership Awards Committee
  • Chair, Lakisha May, Artist/Advocate
  • Vice Chair, Catherine Piccoli, Curatorial Director, The Museum of Food and Drink
  • Ben Burkett, Farmer
  • Dara Cooper, National Black Food and Justice Alliance
  • Soleil Ho, SF Chronicle
  • Irene Li, Mei Mei Dumplings, Prepshift
  • Navina Khanna, Executive Director, HEAL Food Alliance
  • Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank
  • Sean Sherman, Founder: NATIFS.org; Owamni; and The Sioux Chef
 
Call for Recommendations
 

Anyone may enter their recommendation for the Leadership Awards. Additional recommendations are solicited from previous Leadership Award winners and current Leadership committee members. The entries are not official nominations. There is no entry fee to submit a recommendation.

Eligibility
 
The Leadership Awards recognize achievement by individuals and/or organizations who are actively working to set standards that create more equitable, just, sustainable, and economically viable food systems for producers, workers, and consumers alike.
 
Click here to view a full list of categories and eligibility criteria.
 
Judges and Judging
 
The top scoring candidates in each category are announced as the winners in the Spring. Winners are celebrated at the Leadership Awards ceremony in June in Chicago.
 
Click here for information on the voting process for Leadership Awards.
 
Committee-Chosen Award

The Leadership Committee may select an Emerging Leadership honoree to highlight a person or collective who is at the beginning of their career but already doing significant work.

 

Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year Awards

All subcommittee members recommend and vote on candidates for the Lifetime Achievement Awards and Humanitarian of the Year.
 

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual whose lifetime body of work has had a positive and long-lasting impact on the way we eat, cook, and/or think about food in America. 

The Humanitarian of the Year Award is given to an individual or organization working in the realm of food who has given selflessly and worked tirelessly to better the lives of others and society at large. 


Click here for information on the voting process for Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian Awards. 

JAMES BEARD AWARDS EMERITUS COMMITTEE

The James Beard Awards Emeritus Committee program was created to recognize committee members whose terms have ended, for their contributions to the Awards program.
 
Emeritus committee members represent a wealth of industry experience across diverse sectors and remain deeply committed to the work we are doing. Members are invited and agree to serve in an advisory capacity and are officially active for two 2-year terms. The Emeritus program, one of the Awards 2021 audit recommendations, is effective as of the 2022 Awards cycle.
 

2024 Emeritus Committee Members

  •     Scott Alves Barton, Food Studio Professor/Chef, New York University (Book Awards Committee)
  •     Gustavo Arellano, Feature Reporter, Los Angeles Times (Journalism Awards Committee)
  •     Patricia Calhoun, Editor, Westword (Journalism Awards Committee)
  •     Hsiao-Ching Chou, Communications Consultant and Author of Chinese Soul Food (Book Committee, Emeritus Chair)
  •     Jenn Harris, Food columnist, video host, and producer, Los Angeles Times (Restaurant and Chef Committee)
  •     Ren LaForme, Managing Editor, The Poynter Institute (Journalism Awards Committee)
  •     Mackensy Lunsford, Editor, Southern Kitchen; Food and Culture Storyteller (Restaurant and Chef Committee)
  •     Adrian Miller, The Soul Food Scholar (Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee, Emeritus Chair)
  •     Jamila Robinson, Editor in Chief, Bon Appetit magazine (Journalism Awards Committee, Emeritus Chair)
  •     Ken Rubin, Chief Culinary Officer, Rouxbe (Broadcast Media Committee, Emeritus Chair)  
  •     Marc Schermerhorn, President’s Circle, Culinary Arts, Art Institute of Seattle (Book Awards Committee, Emeritus Vice-Chair)
  •     Diane Worthington, Author, James Beard Award Winner, Broadcaster, Tribune Content Agency (Broadcast Media Committee)