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On Monday the 7th of May the world will tune in to find out which chefs, journalists, publishers and restaurant owners will receive the much coveted James Beard Foundation (JBF) awards for their contribution to the American food landscape. You'll be able to watch all the action on Fine Dining Lovers as we will offer the live stream direct from the Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Centre in New York.
Organized in honor of the American chef, James Beard, the JBF awards were established in 1990 after the merging of two pre-existing ceremonies: The R.T French Tastemaker Cookbook Awards and the Cook’s Magazine and Restaurant Business’s Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. This year's ceremony will mark the events 25th Anniversary and to celbrate the city of New York will light the empire state building in orange and yellow.
Considered by many to be the 'Oscars' of the food world the awards focus on the whole spectrum of American dining. Design, graphics, architecture, chefs, restaurants, broadcast-media, cookbook authors and many more professions are highlighted by the foundation.
The 2012 finalists come from varying backgrounds and a full list can be found here. This year the restaurateur Wolgang Puck who owns more than 20 restaurants around the world will pick up the lifetime achievement award for having a 'positive and long-lasting impact on the way people eat, cook, and/or think about food in America.'
James Beard was a charming and generous chef - spending much of his life devoted to helping other young chefs develop their professions by providing them with a platform to demonstrate their cooking to the world. His memory lives on through the awards which seem to grow in size and stature each year. Gael Greene, the author and New York restaurant critic, wrote a personal account of James Beard for Fine Dining Lovers as the pair worked together on their meals on wheels project - a charity that aims to help feed needy people in New York.
The live stream begins at 6pm EDT which is 11:00 PM BST in England and 12:00 PM in mainland Europe. We will embed the JBF live stream on the Fine Dining Lovers Site and tweet live as the event takes place. We look forward to finding out who will win awards and hope you will join us on the night.