The 2026 James Beard Media Award Winners

The Book Awards are open to cookbooks and other nonfiction food- or beverage-related books that were published in the U.S. in 2025. Books from foreign publishers must bear a 2025 U.S. copyright date and/or must have been distributed in the U.S. during 2025. More information about the Book Awards eligibility and criteria can be viewed here.

Baking and the Meaning of Life: How to Find Joy in 100 Recipes
Helen Goh
(Abrams)

Soju Party: How to Drink (and Eat!) Like a Korean
Irene Yoo
(Alfred A. Knopf)

Wine Pairing for the People: The Communion of Wine, Food, and Culture from Africa and Beyond
Cha McCoy with Layla Schlack
(Harvest)

Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prison
Leslie Soble, Alex Busansky, and Aishatu Yusuf
(The New Press))

By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear
Hailee Catalano
(DK)

Kin: Caribbean Recipes for the Modern Kitchen
Marie Mitchell
(W.W. Norton & Company)

The Last Sweet Bite: Stories and Recipes of Culinary Heritage Lost and Found
Michael Shaikh
(Crown)

Cook Like A King: Recipes from My California Chinese Kitchen
Melissa King and JJ Goode
(Ten Speed Press)

Nile Nightshade: An Egyptian Culinary History of the Tomato
Anny Gaul
(University of California Press)

The Japanese Art of Pickling & Fermenting: Preserving Vegetables and Family Traditions
Yoko Nakazawa
(Smith Street Books)

Umma: A Korean Mom's Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes
Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn
(America's Test Kitchen)

Comida Casera: More Than 100 Vegan Recipes, from Traditional to Modern Mexican Dishes
Dora Ramírez
(Balance)

MUMBAI: A Journey Through Its Kitchens, Streets, and Stories
Sri Bodanapu, Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, and Bhavya Pansari, with Nandini Thirani
(Heirloom Project)

Ozoz Sokoh
Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria
(Artisan)

Sallie Ann Robinson

The Broadcast Media Awards are given to nonfiction 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 the U.S. in 2025. More information about Broadcast Media Awards eligibility and criteria can be viewed here.

Heard Podcast: Become a Better Chef
“Lessons Learned”
Airs on: Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple, and Castbox

Buzzkill
“A post-pollinator world”
Airs on: REAP/SOW and Food & Environment Reporting Network

The Theory of Spice
Airs on: LA Times Studios, Documentary+, and YouTube

Raoul's, A New York Story
Airs on: Vimeo

Chef's Table: Legends
Airs on: Netflix

Pati's Mexican Table
Airs on: PBS

Duck Camp Dinners, The Texas Tour
Airs on: YouTube, Outdoor America, Tubi, WayPoint TV, and Outdoor Channel

Michael Ligier
Airs on: YouTube

Tucci in Italy
Airs on: National Geographic

Nasim Lahbichi
lahbco
Instagram

Pati Jinich

The Journalism Awards recognize works in English and cover food- or drink-related content which were published—or self-published—in 2025 in any medium. More information about Journalism Awards eligibility and criteria can be viewed here.

“Spiritual Awakening: Ukraine's black currant brandy tradition was nearly lost to history. Now, one distiller is bringing it back."
Craig Sauers
Wine Enthusiast

"The Cruel American Food Aid Crisis"; "A Tufts Student Abducted, Before Iftar"; "Immigrant Restaurant Workers Are Not Criminals"
Ryan Sutton
The Lo Times

"The Great Salt Shake Up"; "The Worst Sandwich Is Back"; "Elon Musk’s Utterly Mundane Vision of Dining"
Ellen Cushing
The Atlantic

"Rising Up: Hong Kong Looks Inward to Reinvent Itself"
Francis Lam
Condé Nast Traveler

"Caught! A historic, family-run restaurant in Biloxi, Mississippi, made its name selling freshly caught seafood. Then the feds showed up with an extraordinary accusation: The fish were a fraud."
Boyce Upholt
Food & Environment Reporting Network and Inc. Magazine

"The hunt for the bean pie street sellers of legend, and how this dessert is a symbol of liberation for many Black Muslims"
Ahmed Ali Akbar
Chicago Tribune

"The MAHA Trend in Groceries Will Backfire"; "Brace Yourself for Watery Mayo and Spiky Ice Cream"; "The Cleaner Way to Get Ripped"
Yasmin Tayag
The Atlantic

"Going Green"
Elizabeth Mervosh
Food & Wine

"California's Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields"; "Lax Oversight, Few Inspections Leave Child Farmworkers Exposed to Toxic Pesticides"
Robert Lopez
Capital & Main and Los Angeles Times 

"These street vendors used their aguas frescas to fight tear gas at anti-ICE protests"; "Follow the red sauce to Burbank’s best Italian deli"; "After the Eaton fire, Bernee restaurant closed for good. This weekend it’s reborn as Betsy"
Stephanie Breijo
Los Angeles Times

"Schmear Campaign"
Lauren Collins
The New Yorker

"The hunt for life-giving ‘country food’ in the Canadian Arctic"
Monica Herndon
The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Intuitive Eating: On Poison, Pleasure, and Trust"
Erica Berry
Orion Magazine

"The Blueberry Oatmeal That Got Us Through Grief, Then Birth"
Hali Bey Ramdene
Bon Appétit

"No Papers, Just Peaches"
Sithara Ranasinghe
Cake Zine

Jasmine Michel
Dreamboat Cafe