James Beard Awards 2012

The James Beard Awards are the Oscars for food, and although Sally didn't win one the chefs who do are just as excited and honored.

The James Beard Awards are to restaurants and chefs what the Oscars are to movies and actors. For those of us that are total “foodies” these awards set the standard for successes in the restaurant industry and is a barometer for keeping up with food and restaurant trends. The finalists for America’s highest culinary honors have been selected and the winners will be announced the second week of May.

James Beard (1903-1985) was a champion of American cuisine who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Beard appeared on the first cooking shows and has written dozens of cookbooks, his passion for enjoying good food was matched only by his desire to educate others on the importance of eating well. 

After his death, Beard’s

brownstone in New York City’s Greenwich Village was converted into a historical culinary center. In addition to being the headquarters for the Foundation,  the James Beard Houseis a place where Foundation members, the press, and the general public are invited to sample creations of both established and emerging chefs from across the country and around the globe. I highly recommend a special occasion splurge on a  reservation there to enjoy a tasting menu from a visiting master chef! 

James Beard was an American food icon and his legacy lives on through his foundation and their mission to educate people on the importance of good food.

The annual James Beard Foundation Awards are held on the first Monday in May and honors the finest chefs, restaurants, journalists, cookbook authors, restaurant designers, and electronic media professionals in the country.  Presented at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, nominees and winners congregate for a weekend of events in New York City that has become the gastronomic highlight of the year. The awards end with a reception tasting of the signature dishes of the James Beard Foundation’s very best chefs. Yum! Click here for this year’s nominees.

 

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March Is For Madness

March Madness grips us all, even the President! Check out Obama's picks for the men's and women's NCAA tournament!

Attention sports fans, the NCAA March Madness is upon us! It’s the most exciting time of year for college hoops, there’s betting and basketball rivalries, and debates over who will be the NBA and WNBA stars of tomorrow. This year will be the first time all 67 games in this year’s NCAA tournament will be televised nationally so that everyone can watch every game! Even the President is getting in on the action, you can check out Obama’s very own bracket predictions on his Obama Bracket website! So how do you get in on the fun you ask?

Well obviously first you want to take on Obama to see if your bracket picks make it farther than his, but then my next suggestion is to gather your friends and head to some sports bars! Whether you’re a college basketball fanatic or neophyte, watching these exciting games with a group is always better. Especially if you can get some deals on wings or nachos and some drink specials at the same time! But sometimes even choosing a place to watch the games be a challenge, especially in a big city where sports bars can be found on every block!

New York Magazine recognizes this and has created a bracket for the top 32 NYC sports bars! If you’re not in the New York area use the RestaurantRow.com’s mobil app to find a sports bar near you and don’t forget to submit a review. And don’t be afraid to hit up the chain restaurants either. Applebees’s and Buffalo Wild Wings have ample TV’s and even games and contests for diners to participate in!

Don’t be sexist, make sure to check out the women’s games as well, these ladies play hard and can ball like crazy!

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Do You St. Patty’s Day?

St Patty's Day Parades will be kicking off around the country as early as this weekend! So get your Irish up!

On St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish! Especially in the cities of Boston, New York, Chicago, and Cleveland (I know, I was surprised too!) where the St. Patrick’s Day Parades have been a fixture in some cases for over a century!

Boston was a mecca for Irish immigrants escaping famine or persecution, religious or political. The Irish certainly found a place to call home in the New England metropolis and they brought their food and culture with them! In fact there is an entire website devoted to the Irish pubs of Boston. I recommend you check it out for some St. Patrick’s Day specials and events.

New York City has a very strong Irish community and the city at large has embraced the St. Patrick’s Day holiday with one of the biggest and highly televised St. Patty’s Day parades in the country. There is certainly no shortage of Irish Pubs along the parade route or through-out the city for that matter. Here is a list of NYC’s best Irish Pubs according to NYC’s 10 best list.

In Chicago they go so hard for St. Patrick’s Day that they dye the river green and have been doing so since 1692! They even created a beer in honor of the event called Green River! And stop by O’Donovan’s, in the city’s North Center for some traditional Irish favorites like Corned beef and cabbage or a reuben sandwich.

In Cleveland St Patrick’s Day parade, begun in 1867, is the oldest in the state and one of the oldest in the country. What’s more, there’s plenty of green beer, corned beef, shamrocks, and fun to last from dawn to well past dusk. The quintessential Irish pub, Flannery’s will be open starting at dawn on March 17th ready to serve you a beer and a pint!

Irish pubs are famous for their hospitality and good food and drink. March 17th is the perfect day to see them at their finest!

Even if you’re not in or around one of these heavily Irish populated cities, Irish pubs are everywhere and they will welcome you with open arms and a pint of Guinness! And you don’t need to hail from the Emerald Isle to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, just don’t forget to wear your green!

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Women Chefs Heat Things Up

Traditionally men have brought home the bacon and women have cooked it, so I’ve always found it interesting that women chefs are the exception and not the rule. For the most part cooking is to women what a college degree is for most of us, an expected asset. And yet the most notable culinary school in the country, the Culinary Institute of America, didn’t admit women until 1970! For Women’s History Month, let’s take a look at my picks for the top 5 women who have been successful in this surprisingly male dominated field.

1. No list of women culinary innovators would be complete without Julia Child. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, she went on to write one of, if not the most famous cookbooks, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In 1963 she debuted the successful cooking show, “The French Chef.” In 1993 Child was the first woman inducted into the CIA Hall of Fame.

2. Cristeta Comerford brings a whole new meaning to the term “Executive Chef” as the first female head chef of the White House from Clinton to Obama!

3. Growing up in one of America’s meccas for foodies, it comes as little surprise that Chicago-born Stephanie Izard was the first woman to win the title for Top Chef. She is also one of the show’s most successful participants as she is going on her second restaurant at the age of 33.

4. Food radical and pioneer of the Californian Food Movement which promotes (gasp) organic, fresh, farm-to-table ingredients Alice Walker was the first woman to win the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 1992. She is also the Chef/Owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA since 1971.

5. Cat Cora is the first — and remains the only — female Iron Chef . She is a co-founder of Chefs for Humanity, which mobilizes chefs to raise funds and provide resources in instances of emergency. Cora is also the Executive Chef for Bon Appetit magazine and a spokesperson for UNICEF and InSinkErator.

 

 

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March Is Women’s History Month

No surprise Forbes included the First Lady on their 10 most powerful women list. Mrs. O has achieved great success combating childhood obesity with her "Let's Move" campaign. Image from Wikipedia

March is Women’s History Month and in observance Forbes released their picks for the 10 most powerful women in the world. Naturally this list included obvious choices like, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama, but what I found to be pretty cool was that #10 and #4 were both CEOs of the food industry. This is cool to me for two reasons, the first being that these international and multi-billion dollar corporations have women in charge and second it is significant that Forbes highlights companies in the food industry as powerful.

Number 10 is Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods which is the second largest food manufacturer in the world and has over 127,000 people on staff. Indra Nooyi comes in at number 4 and is a Chief Executive at Pepsico, the largest food and beverage company in the United States, they employ over 300,000 people and make over $60 billion in annual revenue. Is it wrong (and perhaps a little sexist) that I find it hugely comforting that women are at the helm of these highly influential food companies? It’s like they are the responsible “moms” making sure we eat right!

Another interesting member of this elite club is #5 Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. Under her tenure Facebook grew from approximately 70 million users to over 750 million active users. These new “friends” include brand pages for companies like Kraft and Pepsico as well as Restaurant Facebook pages from major chains to mom and pops. Sandberg also helped Facebook figure out how utilize all that volunteered  user information that is marketing gold (name, age, marital status, hobbies and a plethera of other preferences) and make a ton of money not just for Facebook, but for companies as well through highly targeted and effective advertising.

These ladies are all incredibly smart and successful and I think it’s fitting that Forbes included them on their top 10 list along with women world political leaders. Forbes recognizes that it’s not only political leadership that is able to wield power and influence in the world but also in other arenas like technology and food manufacturing. And I take off my hat to all the women on Forbes’ list and all women. Let’s take this month to not only acknowledge the great achievements of women throughout history, but keep an eye on the now and make sure that strides are still being taken towards equality because we are not quite there yet!

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