Winners were announced last night, Monday, May 9, at the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation’s most prestigious recognition program honoring professionals in the food and beverage industries.

During a ceremony hosted by Tom Colicchio, Traci Des Jardins and Ming Tsai at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, awards in the Restaurant and Chef and the Design and Graphics categories were presented, as well as a number of special achievement awards including: Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, America’s Classics, Lifetime Achievement, and Humanitarian of the Year. 

Winners of the Foundation’s annual Book, Broadcast and Journalism Awards were presented on May 6 at a ceremony and dinner at Espace in New York City, hosted by Ted Allen of Food Network’s Chopped and The Best Thing I Ever Ate and Gail Simmons of Bravo’s Top Chef.

This year’s winners include:

  • Outstanding Chef: José Andrés (minibar, Washington, D.C.)
  • Outstanding Restaurant: Eleven Madison Park (NYC, owner: Danny Meyer)
  • Rising Star Chef: Gabriel Rucker (Le Pigeon, Portland, Oregon)
  • Best New Restaurant: ABC Kitchen (NYC, chef/owner: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, owner: Phil Suarez)

 In addition, special achievement award honorees included:

  • Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America: Jonathan Gold (writer, LA Weekly, Los Angeles); Lee Jones (farmer/owner, Chef’s Garden, Huron, Ohio); Charles Phan (chef/owner, The Slanted Door, San Francisco); Frank Stitt (chef/owner, Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, Alabama); Nick Valenti (CEO, Patina Restaurant Group, New York, New York).
  • America’s Classics: Chef Vola’s (owners: Louise Esposito, Michael Esposito, Michael Esposito, jr., Louis Esposito, Atlantic City, New Jersey); Crook’s Corner (owner: Gene Hamer, Chapel Hill, North Carolina); Noriega Restaurant and Hotel (owners: Linda Elizalde McCoy and Rochelle Ladd, Bakersfield, California); Le Veau d’Or (owner: Robert Tréboux, New York, New York); Watt’s Tea Shop (president and CEO: Sam Watts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin).
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Kevin Zraly (wine educator and author, Windows on the World Complete Wine Course)
  • Humanitarian of the Year: FareStart (founder: David Lee)

 Highlights from the Book, Broadcast and Journalism Awards announced on Friday, May 6, 2011, at the Awards dinner at Espace included:

  • Cookbook of the Year:Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy by Diana Kennedy (University of Texas Press)
  • Cookbook Hall of Fame:On Food and Cooking: The Science & Lore of the Kitchen byHarold McGee
  • Publication of the Year: Edible Communities
  • M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award:Jonathan Gold, LA Weekly, “A Movable Beast”
  • Audio Webcast or Radio Show: CBC Ideas: Pasta: The Long and Short of It. Host: Megan Williams, area: Canada and online, producers: Susan Mahoney and Megan Williams
  • Television Program, In Studio or Fixed Location: Top Chef: Season 7, host: Padma Lakshmi, network: Bravo, producers: Tom Colicchio, Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, and Dave Serwatka
  • Television Program, On Location: Avec Eric, host: Eric Ripert, network: PBS, online producers: Justin Barocas, Heather Brown, and Geoffrey Drummond
  • TV Food Personality/Host:Alton Brown, show: Good Eats, network: Food Network
  • Food Section of a General Interest Publication:San Francisco Chronicle, Jon Bonné and Miriam Morgan
  • Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review:Patric Kuh, Los Angeles, Animal Magnetism, Making Their Move, Time for a Redo?
  • Group Food Blog: Grub Street New York, Newyork.grubstreet.com, Daniel Maurer, Jenny Miller, and Alan Sytsma
  • Individual Food Blog: Politics of the Plate, Politicsoftheplate.com, Barry Estabrook
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