Ahead of Monday night's Restaurant and Chef Awards, the James Beard Foundation spent the weekend celebrating the people shaping food culture both on and off the plate. The Foundation's Media Awards honored the year's standout writers, broadcasters, and cookbook authors on Saturday, while Sunday's Impact Awards recognized five organizations and leaders working to address issues ranging from immigrant rights and food waste to hunger relief and mental health support.
Hosted by Andrew Zimmern, the Media Awards brought together some of the biggest names in food media at the Art Institute of Chicago. The awards recognize achievement across books, broadcast media, and journalism, honoring work that explores food culture, identity, history, advocacy, and dining around the world. Among the notable winners were Hailee Catalano, whose By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear won in the General category; Ryan King, whose Heard Podcast: Become a Better Chef earned the Audio Programming award; Stanley Tucci's Tucci in Italy, which won for Travel Visual Media; and Netflix's Chef's Table: Legends, which took home the Docuseries Visual Media prize. In journalism, Los Angeles Times reporter Stephanie Breijo received the Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award for her coverage of Southern California food culture, while Robert Lopez of Capital & Main and the Los Angeles Times won for Investigative Reporting for his examination of child farmworker conditions in California. The ceremony also recognized broadcaster Pati Jinich and author Sallie Ann Robinson with Hall of Fame honors.
