Given the importance of Latino workers in restaurant kitchens all over the United States, Pace salsa billionaire Christopher Goldsbury's announcement that he is donating $35 million to the Culinary Institute of America "for a push to deepen the United States' relationship with food from Latin America and help restaurant workers move ahead in the kitchen" represents the first institutional recognition that the aforementioned Latino workers have ever received. It's about time....
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It is now noon, and though my stomach and fingers haven’t recovered from the food I consumed and the liveblogging I did on my Treo at the James Beard Awards last night, I have now had a few hours of sleep and a moment to reflect on what was overall a typically long and delicious night. Hannah Storm was an adequate host, lending a sort of interminably annoying perkiness and no real feeling for what she was up there for. I will say she is stunning and knows how to make love to a teleprompter. Overall there were no surprises and therefore no genuinely tense moments. Thomas Keller won for Restaurateur of the Year, which prompted fellow nominee Drew Nieporent...
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As I tap this out on my Treo phone, I'm in the audience at the James Beard Awards at New York City's Lincoln Center. I'll be liveblogging the awards tonight, keeping you up-to-the-minute on who's won what and giving you some additional information when I can—depending on how speedy I am with the tiny keyboard. 7:10 p.m. Rising Star Chef: David Chang is going to win. I know it. Chang just won. He thanked the team. Hannah Storm is too perky by half. She knows how to make love to a teleprompter. The first of the American Classics are coming up. 7:13 p.m. America's Classics: Primanti Brothers love the fries on sandwich, and they won. Can't argue with this choice....
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As promised, here's the list of Beard nominees in the regional categories, along with my picks. As in the first part of this two-parter, you, too, should make your own picks and leave them in the comments section. Whoever has the most winners in this post will also get a copy of the Oxford Dictionary of American Food and Drink.* It's a big mother of a volume that is too heavy and expensive to buy yourself. So it's a perfect prize. Update: Polls have now closed. We will tally the contest winners' choices as the Beard Award winners are announced....
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With the James Beard Awards coming up on Monday night, it's time for all concerned and interested to try to pick the winners. I'm going to give you my choices, but I have no advance knowledge of the winners, so you should fill out the ballot and post yours as a comment on this post. The person who has the highest number of winners will receive a copy of the Oxford Dictionary of American Food and Drink. It's a big mother of a volume that is too heavy and expensive to buy yourself. So it's a perfect prize. This post is a list of the awards that are national in scope. I'll follow this up later today with one post...
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Regina Schrambling of the Los Angeles Times says job options in the food industry are booming like never before: "Careers are evolving that were unknown a decade ago, or at least before the Food Network brought out the inner Emeril in so many Americans and food became not just sustenance but entertainment, politics, culture, artisanal opportunity, and national obsession. Other industries may face downsizing, but the business of eating and drinking has never seemed more vibrant. Dinner cannot be outsourced to India." People are either choosing to specialize in new niches, like the beer sommelier she spoke to, or they escape the traditional restaurant kitchen by starting their own businesses doing things like giving culinary tours or selling reheatable meals....
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