2007 Most Serious Eater Award: Call for Entries
Yes, it's that time of year when awards start cropping up all over the web and beyond. I thought it would be fun to have a few year-end Serious Eats Awards just to spice things up around here. This morning we are looking for the Most Serious Eater of 2007. This soon-to-be-prestigious award will go to the person or persons who have provided more delicious pleasure to the Serious Eats community (and the food culture at large) than anybody else this year.
That person could be a blogger, chef, television personality, cookbook author, food writer, purveyor, bread baker, pastry chef, restaurateur, pit master, chocolate maker, food critic, or anyone who has been responsible in some direct way for us eating the most seriously delicious food. Today I would like to ask you, the passionate, discerning, and inclusive members of the Serious Eats community, to submit your nominees for consideration.
Nominate up to three people for consideration with your comment. You can, of course, second other people's choices. We will close comments on this post at midnight, Wednesday (December 19). We will then take your suggestions and add our own two cents to come up with the list of final nominees. The final ballot for the 2007 Most Serious Eater Award will be posted this Friday (December 21) and will be up until the the ball comes down in Times Square on New Year's Eve.
This should be fun.
Comments are closed: 38 Comments:
I would like to nominate Jaden Hair of Jaden's Steamy Kitchen. Only blogging since April 2007, Jaden's blog is already up to approximately 400,000 page views/month. Jaden is also now cooking on local PBS programs and during the morning show at the ABC TV affiliate. Her food photography, shot on a piece of foamcore near the glass doors in her living room with her untrained one-button method, is seriously exquisite.
LunaPierCook at 9:06AM on 12/17/07
Ree of Pioneer Women Cooks.
kdjmom3 at 9:10AM on 12/17/07
(I hit the flippin' Enter key too fast ...) I would also like to nominate JEP, who seems to post more questions and answers on SE than anyone, including SE staffers.
LunaPierCook at 9:12AM on 12/17/07
JEP of the Serious Eats community for consistently finding topics that engage readers in participation in the "Talk" forum and for her grace and charm. She has added much to the experience that is "Serious Eats".
Karen Resta at 9:16AM on 12/17/07
Ha, ha! I was typing JEP as you were posting JEP!
There. You see her power.
Karen Resta at 9:19AM on 12/17/07
JEP, JEP, JEP
hereandthe at 9:22AM on 12/17/07
Karen, mine posted first, sooooo ... NEENER-NEENER-NEEEEEner! :-D
LunaPierCook at 9:25AM on 12/17/07
JEP was definitely my immediate thought!
Curlz at 9:31AM on 12/17/07
Yes, you will bask in the reflected glory, LunaPierCook - while I pout. :)
I'd also like to nominate Robyn who has a knack for adding the unexpected, fun, and interesting to the site besides being a woman who knows how to write about pastries in a more-than-admirable and excellently detailed fashion.
I can not say how often her posts have made me go "Awwwwwww, cuuuuuuute!" or "Wooooo-eeeee! Cool!" :)
Karen Resta at 9:34AM on 12/17/07
Okay one last one.
Michael Pollan. Because even though I simply can not make it through reading his books, the guy has done more to pique thought about what we eat here and now, today - which of course means into the future too - than any single person I can think of.
Karen Resta at 9:46AM on 12/17/07
Dorie Greenspan an SE contributor and legendary homebaker
chiffonade my compatriot in all that is good to eat and bake
my paisan Mario Batali who brought back sexy to italian cuisine with such fervor and devotion
JerzeeTomato at 9:47AM on 12/17/07
Robyn, because the pictures and little tidbits she posts always make me smile every day.
synaesthesia.dc at 9:58AM on 12/17/07
I suppose we can't nominate one Ed Levine can we? I think the Serious Eats team should get this award, with Ed giving the acceptance speech.
Otherwise, I'd go with Michael Ruhlman.
(On a personal note, I would like to nominate Michael Bao Huynh. I ate at Bun (http://www.eatbun.com) yesterday for the 2nd time and it was delicious. Bun Bo Hue with tender, juicy pork... mmm, yum. I also am somewhat biased having met Bao while he was on a chef's tour in Vietnam, and later re-introducing myself to him at Bun, where he was kind enough to sit down and chat on a busy Friday night. I am very happy to have some creative Vietnamese food in a city not particularly known for its Vietnamese cuisine. And simply for that, he and his staff at Bun win my personal SeriousEaters of the year)
NSW at 9:59AM on 12/17/07
I would like to nominate Samak, Gop, Nick, and all of the staff at Absolute Bagels, for providing superior bagels in a city of great bagels.
Also worthy is Community Food and Juice, providing above-par brunch to the Columbia University area.
ClaireDunnington at 10:26AM on 12/17/07
I like Karen Resta, whose posts are well-thought qand provoking. and JerZee Tomato, whose posted thoughts seem to be well-provoked.
srhcb at 11:00AM on 12/17/07
I'll nominate JEP as well! Always engaging, entertaining topics that get people talking and thinking.
Christina at 11:12AM on 12/17/07
You know, I would like to nominate JerZee Tomato as well.
NSW at 11:15AM on 12/17/07
I nominated endless simmer for coming up with this idea:
http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2007/12/10/who-is-the-eater-of-the-year/
spiegelb at 12:20PM on 12/17/07
+1 Roboppy
raphael at 12:24PM on 12/17/07
Another vote for Robyn Lee along with one for Anthony Bourdain and another for Michael Ruhlman. In the past year, these three have logged more air miles in the name of good food than anyone since--MFK Fisher (although I think hers were actually sea miles).
And David Chang of Momofuku and Danny Meyer of Shake Shack, without whom an impoverished gourmet would never taste the finer things of life--in New York City, anyway.
annien at 1:14PM on 12/17/07
The Wandering Eater
raphael at 1:26PM on 12/17/07
+1 The Wandering Eater
roboppy at 1:28PM on 12/17/07
Michael Rulhman, JEP and Jerzee Tomato.
Colorado Jim at 1:48PM on 12/17/07
Let's go with Michael Ruhlmann, Alice Waters, and Michael Symon.
DanielJ at 3:06PM on 12/17/07
OMG, OMG, OMG...you guys are blowing me away today!!! I'm blushing, too :) I've said this previously but want each you in the SE community to know that I consider you family. Multiple times daily, I come to SE to connect with you & share the love of good food. Each of you have added another dimension to my food knowledge in your own unique way.
I truly appreciate your kindness & friendship!
I'm nominating: Chiff0nade, JerzeeTomato & Karen Resta. Daily, each one participates in the SE blog---sharing insight & perspective. Their willingness to offer knowledge they have come by, whether thru learning from others or actual hands-on experience is amazing!
JEP at 3:15PM on 12/17/07
-Adam Roberts, The Amateur Gourmet, because of his humor and resilience in the kitchen
-Shauna James Ahern, Gluten Free Girl, because she is a beautiful writer and is helping a lot of people love food in new ways
-JEP because she's constantly coming up with new topics about all things food.
LiveToEat at 4:17PM on 12/17/07
Robyn!
agreen at 4:41PM on 12/17/07
When I read the intro, I was thinking JEP but then thought I'd be all alone IMO. Lo and behold, when I made it to the comments dept., I'd been beaten to the punch many times over. JEP keeps to talk lively and focused on what we are all interested in.
czken at 5:10PM on 12/17/07
Uh...first of all, thank you Raphael and Robyn for nominating me! I'm not worthy! Really. I'm practically a nobody in the Interwebs.
As for my vote, I'll fifth Robyn! I love her photos, her blog, and give the SE site a little bit of humor, cuteness, and je ne sais quoi.
wanderingeater at 6:39PM on 12/17/07
JEP, chiff0nade, and Ree (Pioneer Woman). :o)
kmnola at 7:04PM on 12/17/07
Ree thePioneer Woman
her humor and easy to follow recipe with fantastic picture made my Thanksgiving a lot easier.
Mario Batali
for being the most active online Iron Chef. (and he is just awesome!)
mochateri at 7:28PM on 12/17/07
Hey guys! I nominate JEP as well - you ROCK.
LPC- thanks for the nomination, you are a sweetie - but I really really think that JEP deserves it.
xoxoxoxo jaden
Steamy Kitchen at 10:42PM on 12/17/07
I'd like to nominate Carol at French Laundry at Home. More than any other food blogger or food web site, she has shown me that there's no need to be afraid or anxious in the kitchen -- that if a regular, everyday person can take on the whole French Laundry Cookbook, then I can change the way I cook, too. I've learned so much from her web site (even when she screws up a dish, she finds a way to salvage it and make something edible), and I think she's inspiring. Not to mention absolutely hilarious! I also like that she shows such a passion for food and the way it connects her to her past and what's going on in her kitchen or dining room that day. Gosh, I sound like a gushing fangirl.... but it's a really good site, and she's really motivated a lot of people to stretch their cooking boundaries.
I'm also a fan of Michael Ruhlman's blog. His and FrenchLaundryatHome.com are the first two I check every morning. They both write in such a way that sticks with you for days.
CarlaBowers at 10:47PM on 12/17/07
I'd like to nominate Seattle chef Tom Douglas who provides us with 5 restaurants (and a bakery) from which to get some truly serious eats. His menus change based on what is in season and each location offers something different and delicious.
In addition, he has written several books, hosted a culinary camp, and opened a venue a few years back for hosting private events. I met him briefly once and he is a down-to-earth, nice guy.
http://tomdouglas.com/
JWdude at 12:58AM on 12/18/07
1. Lidia Bastrianich
2. Gordon Ramsey
3. Adam Roberts ( amateur gourmet )
NewEnglandBites at 8:17AM on 12/18/07
1. JEP, thank you for your topics and insight!
2. Michael Ruhlman, I hope I get to have a Dortmunder with him :)
(everyone donate to Menu for Hope!)
I would vote for Ed Levine first, if I could! I love the philosophy he has created for SE, and his devotion to the craft of unique and special cuisine.
Littlebluesiren at 2:10PM on 12/18/07
Mario Batali
Jacques Pepin
PerkyMac at 6:21PM on 12/18/07
Another vote for
Shauna James Ahern, a.k.a. gluten-free girl.
She is a Godsend to celiacs in a million different ways.
PerkyMac at 6:39PM on 12/18/07