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Here Are the 2023 James Beard Awards Restaurant, Chef, and Media Finalists

The full list of nominees

A silver James Beard Award medal. James Beard Foundation

On March 29th, the James Beard Foundation announced its slate of finalists for its 2023 restaurant and chef awards. In addition to revealing who has advanced from the semifinalist pool revealed last month, the Foundation has also announced six recipients of the organization’s Leadership Award; that Olivia Watkins and Karen Washington, co-founders of the Black Farmer Fund, would received the Humanitarian Award; and that cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey would be honored with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. They join the America’s Classics winners for 2023, which were announced in February.

This is the second awards season to reflect changes made in the wake of an extensive 2021 audit to address the longstanding biases baked into the awards process. New awards categories include an emerging chef award without an age cutoff, as well as regional best chef categories that now include separate awards for California, Texas, and New York in hopes of recognizing a broader geographic range of winners. Voting is also different than it was before the 2020 hiatus, with prior winners (a group that skews white, and male) no longer being automatically included in the voting body that determined who moved from the semifinalist to the finalist list below (and from there, who wins). The voting body has also expanded beyond traditional food media. The stated goal in the 2021 audit was also to have at least 50 percent of committee members and judges be people of color for the 2023 awards.

Media nominees — including everything from cookbooks to podcasts to TV shows — were revealed on April 26, and this post was updated accordingly. The awards ceremony will take place in Chicago on June 5.

2023 James Beard Awards: Restaurant and Chef Finalists

Outstanding Restaurant

  • Copine, Seattle, WA
  • Coracora, West Hartford, CT
  • Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia, PA
  • Lucia, Dallas, TX
  • Mita’s, Cincinnati, OH

Outstanding Restaurateur

  • Brandon Chrostowski, EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute (EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, edwins too, EDWINS Bakery, and others), Cleveland, OH
  • Greg Dulan, Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen, Dulan’s on Crenshaw, and Dulanville, Los Angeles, CA
  • Aaron Hoskins, Sarah Simmons, and Elie Yigo, City Grit Hospitality Group (SmallSUGAR, CITY GRIT, and Il Focolare Pizzeria), Columbia, SC
  • Yenvy and Quynh Pham, Phở Bắc Sup Shop, Phởcific Standard Time, and the Boat, Seattle, WA
  • Ellen Yin, High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a.kitchen + bar, High Street Philly, and others), Philadelphia, PA

Outstanding Chef

  • Rachel Miller, Nightshade Noodle Bar, Lynn, MA
  • Niki Nakayama, n/naka, Los Angeles, CA
  • Erik Ramirez, Llama Inn, Brooklyn, NY
  • Rob Rubba, Oyster Oyster, Washington, D.C.
  • Hajime Sato, Sozai, Clawson, MI

Emerging Chef

  • Damarr Brown, Virtue, Chicago, IL
  • Rashida Holmes, Bridgetown Roti, Los Angeles, CA
  • Serigne Mbaye, Dakar NOLA, New Orleans, LA
  • Charlie Mitchell, Clover Hill, New York, NY
  • Amanda Shulman, Her Place Supper Club, Philadelphia, PA

Best New Restaurant

  • Causa, Washington, D.C.
  • Dept of Culture, New York, NY
  • Don Artemio, Fort Worth, TX
  • Kann, Portland, OR
  • Lupi & Iris, Milwaukee, WI
  • Neng Jr.’s, Asheville, NC
  • Nolia, Cincinnati, OH
  • Obélix, Chicago, IL
  • Restaurant Beatrice, Dallas, TX
  • Tatemó, Houston, TX

Outstanding Hospitality

  • The Black Cypress, Pullman, WA
  • Bottega, Birmingham, AL
  • Lula Drake, Columbia, SC
  • The Quarry, Monson, ME
  • Sepia, Chicago, IL

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

  • Cote, New York, NY
  • Lazy Bear, San Francisco, CA
  • Nancy’s Hustle, Houston, TX
  • Ototo, Los Angeles, CA
  • Spencer, Ann Arbor, MI

Outstanding Bar

  • Bar Leather Apron, Honolulu, HI
  • Drastic Measures, Shawnee, KS
  • Garagiste, Las Vegas, NV
  • Las Ramblas, Brownsville, TX
  • Rob Roy, Seattle, WA

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

  • Veronika Baukema, Veronika’s Pastry Shop, Billings, MT
  • Elaine Uykimpang Bentz, Café Mochiko, Cincinnati, OH
  • Vince Bugtong, Viridian, Oakland, CA
  • Margarita Manzke, République, Los Angeles, CA
  • Shawn McKenzie, Café Cerés, Minneapolis, MN

Outstanding Bakery

  • Angelo Brocato Ice Cream & Confectionery, New Orleans, LA
  • La Casita Bakeshop, Richardson, TX
  • Kuluntu Bakery, Dallas, TX
  • Yoli Tortilleria, Kansas City, MO
  • Zak the Baker, Miami, FL

Leadership Awards

  • Jim Embry, Sustainable Communities Network, Slow Food USA, and Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance
  • Valerie Horn, CANE Kitchen, Cowan Community Center, and City of Whitesburg Farmers Market
  • Savonala “Savi” Horne, Land Loss Prevention Project
  • Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
  • Rowen White, Sierra Seeds
  • Emerging Leadership: The Burgerville Workers Union

Best Chefs (by region)

Best Chef: California

  • Gilberto Cetina Jr., Holbox, Los Angeles, CA
  • Kyle and Katina Connaughton, SingleThread, Healdsburg, CA
  • Brandon Hayato Go, Hayato, Los Angeles, CA
  • Justin Pichetrungsi, Anajak Thai, Sherman Oaks, CA
  • Carlos Salgado, Taco María, Costa Mesa, CA

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

  • Omar Anani, Saffron De Twah, Detroit, MI
  • Diana Dávila Boldin, Mi Tocaya Antojería, Chicago, IL
  • Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, Kasama, Chicago, IL
  • Andy Hollyday, Selden Standard, Detroit, MI
  • Sarah Welch, Marrow, Detroit, MI

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

  • Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi, Philadelphia, PA
  • Dionicio Jiménez, Cantina La Martina, Philadelphia, PA
  • Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski, Apteka, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Michael Rafidi, Albi, Washington, D.C.
  • Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, Kalaya, Philadelphia, PA

Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI)

  • Sanaa Abourezk, Sanaa’s Gourmet Mediterranean, Sioux Falls, SD
  • Gregory León, Amilinda, Milwaukee, WI
  • Francesco Mangano, Osteria Papavero, Madison, WI
  • Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger, Fairchild, Madison, WI
  • David Utterback, Yoshitomo, Omaha, NE

Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY)

  • Salvador Alamilla, Amano, Caldwell, ID
  • Michael Diaz de Leon, BRUTØ, Denver, CO
  • Suchada Johnson, Teton Thai, Teton Village, WY
  • Kris Komori, KIN, Boise, ID
  • Ali Sabbah, Mazza, Salt Lake City, UT

Best Chef: New York State

  • Nasim Alikhani, Sofreh, Brooklyn, NY
  • Mary Attea, The Musket Room, New York, NY
  • Amanda Cohen, Dirt Candy, New York, NY
  • Shaina Loew-Banayan, Cafe Mutton, Hudson, NY
  • Junghyun Park, Atomix, New York, NY

Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

  • Valentine Howell, Krasi, Boston, MA
  • Christian Hunter, Community Table, Washington, CT
  • Sherry Pocknett, Sly Fox Den Too, Charlestown, RI
  • Yisha Siu, Yunnan Kitchen, Boston, MA
  • Renee Touponce, The Port of Call, Mystic, CT

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)

  • Joshua Dorcak, MÄS, Ashland, OR
  • Vince Nguyen, Berlu, Portland, OR
  • Thomas Pisha-Duffly, Gado Gado, Portland, OR
  • Beau Schooler, In Bocca Al Lupo, Juneau, AK
  • Aaron Verzosa, Archipelago, Seattle, WA

Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV)

  • Sam Fore, Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites, Lexington, KY
  • Josh Habiger, Bastion, Nashville, TN
  • Sam Hart, Counter-, Charlotte, NC
  • Terry Koval, The Deer and the Dove, Decatur, GA
  • Paul Smith, 1010 Bridge, Charleston, WV

Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR)

  • Ana Castro, Lengua Madre, New Orleans, LA
  • Timothy Hontzas, Johnny’s Restaurant, Homewood, AL
  • Alex Perry and Kumi Omori, Vestige, Ocean Springs, MS
  • Henry Moso, Kabooki Sushi, Orlando, FL
  • Natalia Vallejo, Cocina al Fondo, San Juan, PR

Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)

  • Oscar Amador and Francesco Di Caudo, Anima by EDO, Las Vegas, NV
  • Kaoru Azeuchi, KAISEKI YUZU, Las Vegas, NV
  • Andrew Black, Grey Sweater, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Jeff Chanchaleune, Ma Der Lao Kitchen, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Justin Pioche, Pioche Food Group, Upper Fruitland (Doolkai), Navajo Nation, NM

Best Chef: Texas

  • Reyna Duong, Sandwich Hag, Dallas, TX
  • Benchawan Jabthong Painter, Street to Kitchen, Houston, TX
  • Emiliano Marentes, ELEMI, El Paso, TX
  • John Russ, Clementine, San Antonio, TX
  • Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland, Burnt Bean Co., Seguin, TX

James Beard Foundation Book Awards

Baking and Desserts

  • New European Baking: 99 Recipes for Breads, Brioches and Pastries by Laurel Kratochvila
  • Tava: Eastern European Baking and Desserts from Romania & Beyond by Irina Georgescu
  • What’s for Dessert: Simple Recipes for Dessert People: A Baking Book by Claire Saffitz

Beverage with Recipes

  • The Bartender’s Manifesto: How to Think, Drink, and Create Cocktails Like a Pro by Toby Maloney and Emma Janzen
  • Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em from the Award-Winning Bar by Neal Bodenheimer and Emily Timberlake
  • Wild Brews: The Craft of Home Brewing, from Sour and Fruit Beers to Farmhouse Ales by Jaega Wise

Beverage without Recipes

  • Drinking with the Valkyries: Writings on Wine by Andrew Jefford
  • Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake: Rice, Water, Earth by Nancy Matsumoto and Michael Tremblay
  • To Fall in Love, Drink This: A Wine Writer’s Memoir by Alice Feiring

Bread

  • Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives by Kitty Tait and Al Tait
  • The Miller’s Daughter: Unusual Flours & Heritage Grains: Stories and Recipes from Hayden Flour Mills by Emma Zimmerman
  • The Perfect Loaf: The Craft and Science of Sourdough Breads, Sweets, and More: A Baking Book by Maurizio Leo

Food Issues and Advocacy

  • Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America by Psyche A. Williams-Forson
  • Gastronativism: Food, Identity, Politics by Fabio Parasecoli
  • Retail Inequality: Reframing the Food Desert Debate by Kenneth H. Kolb

General

  • The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress by Andy Baraghani
  • I Dream of Dinner (so you don’t have to): Low-Effort, High-Reward Recipes: A Cookbook by Ali Slagle
  • Sunday Best: Cooking Up the Weekend Spirit Every Day: A Cookbook by Adrienne Cheatham with Sarah Zorn

International

  • Masala: Recipes from India, the Land of Spices by Anita Jaisinghani
  • Mezcla: Recipes to Excite by Ixta Belfrage
  • Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico: A Cookbook by Rick Martínez

Literary Writing

  • California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival by Keith Corbin with Kevin Alexander
  • Savor: A Chef’s Hunger for More by Fatima Ali with Tarajia Morrell
  • To Boldly Grow: Finding Joy, Adventure, and Dinner in Your Own Backyard by Tamar Haspel

Reference, History, and Scholarship

  • A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community by Natalia Molina
  • Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History by Jori Lewis
  • What a Mushroom Lives For: Matsutake and the Worlds They Make by Michael J. Hathaway

Restaurant and Professional

  • Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook: A Family Affair in Smoke and Soul by Kevin Bludso with Noah Galuten
  • Please Wait To Be Tasted: The Lil’ Deb’s Oasis Cookbook by Carla Perez-Gallardo, Hannah Black, and Wheeler with Meshell Ndegeocello
  • Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin’ in New Orleans by Mason Hereford and JJ Goode

Single Subject

  • Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple by Jorge Gaviria
  • The Miracle of Salt: Recipes and Techniques to Preserve, Ferment, and Transform Your Food by Naomi Duguid
  • The Wok: Recipes and Techniques by J. Kenji López-Alt

U.S. Foodways

  • Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island by Emily Meggett with Kayla Stewart and Trelani Michelle
  • I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes from a Southern Chef by Vishwesh Bhatt
  • The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family: A Cookbook by Bill Leung, Kaitlin Leung, Judy Leung, and Sarah Leung

Vegetable-Focused Cooking

  • Plant-Based India: Nourishing Recipes Rooted in Tradition by Dr. Sheil Shukla
  • In Praise of Veg: The Ultimate Cookbook for Vegetable Lovers by Alice Zaslavsky
  • The Vegan Chinese Kitchen: Recipes and Modern Stories from a Thousand-Year-Old Tradition: A Cookbook by Hannah Che

Visuals

  • Chinese-ish: Home Cooking Not Quite Authentic, 100% Delicious by Joanna Hu and Armelle Habib
  • Homage: Recipes and Stories from an Amish Soul Food Kitchen by Brittany Conerly
  • The Sofrito Manifesto by Bernardo Medina, Rafael Montalvo, and Ángelo Álvarez

James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Awards

Audio Programming

  • Copper & Heat; “Abalone: The Cost of Consumption”; Airs on: Various podcast platforms
  • Dish City; “The complicated legacy of Asian-owned carryouts in D.C.’s Black neighborhoods”; Airs on: WAMU and various podcast platforms
  • Good Food; “‘Maíz is life’ — the history, science, and politics of masa”; Airs on: KCRW and various podcast platforms

Audio Reporting

  • Jane Black and Elizabeth Dunn; Pressure Cooker; “The Twisted History of School Lunch in America”; Airs on: Various podcast platforms
  • Tyler Boudreaux; “The Blacker the Cherry: The abolitionist history of the Black Republican Cherry”; Airs on: KCRW
  • Lisa Morehouse; California Foodways; “‘We Just Have Faith’: Gold Country Jewish Community Strives to Connect Through COVID”; “Ojai’s Famous Pixie Tangerine Struggles to Survive Wildfires and a Hot Real Estate Market”; “Cafeteria Cook Brings Gourmet Dishes Inspired by Palauan Childhood to Lassen Community College”; Airs on: KQED and various podcast platforms

Commercial Media

  • Jaylee Adams, Lindsey Hagen, and Martha Stoumen; California Natural by Martha Stoumen Wines; Airs on: Vimeo
  • Hallie Davison, Jorge Gaviria, and Daniel Klein; Masienda Presents; Airs on: YouTube
  • Hallie Davison, Daniel Klein, and Yazmín Ramírez; Las Chicatanas: The Oaxacan Ant Delicacy That Is Harvested Just Once a Year; Airs on: YouTube

Documentary / Docuseries Visual Media

  • Coldwater Kitchen; Airs on: Various film festivals
  • James Hemings: Ghost in America’s Kitchen; Airs on: Various streaming platforms
  • Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter; Airs on: Apple TV and Amazon Prime

Instructional Visual Media

  • Big Sky Kitchen With Eduardo Garcia; Airs on: Magnolia Network and Discovery+
  • Techniquely with Lan Lam; Airs on: YouTube
  • What’s Eating Dan?; Airs on: YouTube

Reality or Competition Visual Media

  • Restaurant Takeover ft. Matta; Airs on: YouTube
  • Top Chef; Airs on: Bravo
  • We Put 11 Cameras In NYC’s Busiest Brunch Restaurant | Bon Appétit; Airs on: YouTube

Social Media Account

  • Erwan Heussaff; Erwan; Instagram
  • Andrew Huang, Ewa Huang, and Jeromy Ko; Nom Life; Instagram and TikTok
  • Kalamata’s Kitchen Staff; Kalamatas Kitchen - Of Course It’s Kid Friendly; Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok

Visual Media—Short Form

  • CBS Sunday Morning; “Black, White, and The Grey”; “How Erin French found herself at The Lost Kitchen”; Airs on: CBS
  • How One of Philly’s Best Pizza Spots Creates Jobs for the Formerly Incarcerated — The Experts; Eater, airs on: YouTube
  • Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien; Airs on: Syndicated

Visual Media—Long Form

  • Mafia Land; Airs on: Vice TV and YouTube
  • Somebody Feed Phil; Airs on: Netflix
  • The Whole Animal; Airs on: SOMM TV

James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards

Beverage

  • “Lost in Translation — How Flavor Wheels and Tasting Tools Can Evolve to Speak with Global Beer Drinkers” by Mark Dredge for Good Beer Hunting
  • “The Great Mezcal Heist” by Emma Janzen for Eater
  • “Who’s Allowed to Make Sotol?” by B.E. Mintz for Texas Monthly

Columns and Newsletters

  • “The Case for the Supermarket Supershopper”; “A Maximalist New Wave for Instant Noodles”; “We All Scream for Asian American Ice Cream” by Cathy Erway for TASTE
  • “Tetelas Are the Tasty Triangles You Need to Try Right Now”; “Birria Is the Greatest Threat to Taco Culture—and Its Savior”; “Trompo Tacos Are So Much More Than Tacos al Pastor” by José R. Ralat for Texas Monthly
  • “Taking down a mammy complex”; “Decoding the Guild Guide”; “Seducing truckers with ‘nanner pudding” by Hanna Raskin for The Food Section

Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award

  • “Poncho’s Tlayudas, a window to Oaxaca, serves one of L.A.’s defining dishes”; “At Chinatown’s Pearl River Deli, the menu is always changing — and worth chasing”; “Anajak Thai is our 2022 Restaurant of the Year” by Bill Addison for Los Angeles Times
  • “Vietnamese Food Goes Rogue at Portland’s Berlu”; “Kann Is Portland Monthly’s Restaurant of the Year: 2022”; “Michelin-Starred Chef Matthew Lightner Seeds Oregon’s Next Food Revolution at Okta” by Karen Brooks for Portland Monthly
  • “The most exciting new restaurant pop-up in Oakland is also its best-kept secret”; “After 33 years, an Indian food icon in Berkeley is better than ever”; “Stars like DJ Khaled and Steve Aoki have Bay Area restaurants now. They’re all uniquely terrible”by Soleil Ho for San Francisco Chronicle

Dining and Travel

  • “Feasting on the NOLA Suburbs” by Brett Martin for Garden & Gun
  • “The I-95 exit-by-exit eating guide”; “Don’t leave home without your I-95 eating guide” by Hanna Raskin for The Food Section
  • “Best New Restaurants” by Elazar Sontag for Bon Appétit

Feature Reporting

  • “Trouble Brewing” by Charles Bethea for The New Yorker
  • “The Last Oyster Tongers of Apalachicola” by David Hanson for The Bitter Southerner
  • “Blood Sweat & Tears” by Shane Mitchell for The Bitter Southerner

Food Coverage in a General Interest Publication

  • The Bitter Southerner
  • Oxford American
  • San Francisco Chronicle

Foodways

  • “Kimchi With a Side of Whale” by Jennifer Fergesen for Eater
  • “The Elusive Roots of Rosin Potatoes” by Caroline Hatchett for The Bitter Southerner
  • “Come Hell or High Water — Oysters, Brewing, and How the Come Yahs & Bin Yahs Could End Sea Level Rise in Charleston” by Jamaal Lemon for Good Beer Hunting

Health and Wellness

  • “How the Supreme Court Decision Exacerbated the Dire State of Bar Industry Healthcare” by Betsy Andrews for SevenFifty Daily
  • “Coffee vs. tea smackdown”; “What are ultra-processed foods? What should I eat instead?”; “The best foods to feed your gut microbiome” by Anahad O’Connor for The Washington Post
  • “When ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’ Miss the Mark: Restaurants Rethink Gender’s Role in Service” by Rax Will for The New York Times

Home Cooking

  • “Chinese Scrambled Eggs With Tomato” by Jenny Dorsey for Serious Eats
  • “How to Hot Pot: the Method (and the Madness) Behind Our Favorite Communal Meal” by Elyse Inamine for Bon Appétit
  • “Sour Power” by Lara Lee for Food & Wine

Innovative Storytelling

  • “How One New York City Restaurant Fought To Survive” by Crista Chapman, Gray Beltran, and Gary He for The New York Times
  • “Uneven Ground: Exceptional Black farmers and their fight to flourish in the South” by The Tennessean Staff for The Tennessean
  • “Night Market” by Thrillist Staff for Thrillist

Investigative Reporting

  • “The fight to keep little-known bacteria out of powdered baby formula”; “Formula shortage adds to financial crunch for farmworker families”; “Whistleblower report on baby formula didn’t reach top FDA food safety official” by Jacob Bogage, Kimberly Kindy, and Laura Reiley for The Washington Post
  • “Animal Agriculture Is Dangerous Work. The People Who Do It Have Few Protections.”; “‘I Was Coughing So Hard I Would Throw Up’”; “Tyson Says Its Nurses Help Workers. Critics Charge They Stymie OSHA.” by Christina Cooke, Alice Driver, and Gosia Wozniacka for Civil Eats
  • “Chef’s Fable”; “Can This Farm Fix Agriculture If It Can’t Fix Itself?”; “Feed the Rich, Save the Planet?” by Meghan McCarron for Eater

Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award

  • “The Doughnut Kids Are All Right”; “The Subtle Brilliance of Pijja Palace, Silver Lake’s Indian Sports Bar”; “A Soul-Crushing Work of Staggering Genius” by Cathy Chaplin, Eater
  • “When I Feel Unmoored by Life, I Always Find My Way Back to Either/Or”; “At Mira’s East African Cuisine, One Family’s Iftar Traditions Take the Forefront”; “Why Isn’t There an Overdose Kit Stocked Behind Every Bar in Portland?” by Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Eater
  • “How Black-owned vegan restaurants in West End prefigured Atlanta’s passion for plants”; “The Luxury Car Wash: Dog Spa, Hookah and Even Lamb Chops While You Wait”; “Eby Marshall Slack, an original staffer at Atlanta’s iconic Paschal’s restaurant, on building community” by Mike Jordan, Atlanta Magazine; The Wall Street Journal

MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award

  • “Sardine kofta in Palestine: A love story” by Maram Humaid for Al Jazeera
  • “Feasting on the NOLA Burbs” by Brett Martin for Garden & Gun
  • “Blood Sweat & Tears” by Shane Mitchell for The Bitter Southerner

Personal Essay with Recipes

  • “Coming to America: How One Family Preserved Their Culinary Traditions After Moving to the Midwest in the 1960s” by Lan Samantha Chang for Food & Wine
  • “In My 40th Year, I Finally Made Pita Bread” by Layla Khoury-Hanold for Food52
  • “Dog S#!t Dacquoise” by Diep Tran for Food & Wine

Personal Essay without Recipes

  • “Slave Food and Other Insults” by Dr. Cynthia R. Greenlee for Oxford American
  • “On Boba” by Kyla Wazana Tompkins for The LARB Quarterly of the Los Angeles Review of Books
  • “How These Chinese Doughnuts Helped Save My Refugee Family” by Jean Trinh for Los Angeles Times

Profile

  • “Being Paula Camp” by Monica Eng for Chicago
  • “Tribe to Table” by Carolyn Kormann for The New Yorker
  • “The Sweetest Harvest” by Kayla Stewart for Food & Wine

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2023.