2013 James Beard Foundation Awards Winners Announced

NEW YORK, May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Winners were announced last night, Monday, May 6, 2013, at the 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation's most prestigious recognition program honoring professionals in the food and beverage industries. During a ceremony hosted by popular American actor Oliver Platt at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, awards in the Restaurant and Chef and the Design categories were presented, as well as a number of special achievement awards including Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America, Lifetime Achievement, Humanitarian of the Year, and America's Classics. Winners of the Foundation's annual Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards were presented on May 3, 2013, at the ceremony and dinner at Gotham Hall in New York City, hosted by multiple James Beard television personality, writer, and cookbook author Ted Allen. A complete list of all award winners can be found at jamesbeard.org/awards.

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Highlights from this year's list of winners include:

• Outstanding Chef: (tie) David Chang, Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC, and Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago
• Outstanding Restaurant: Blue Hill, NYC
• Rising Star Chef: Danny Bowien, Mission Chinese Food, San Francisco and NYC
• Best New Restaurant: State Bird Provisions, San Francisco

In addition, special achievement award honorees included:

• Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America: Eric Asimov (Journalist and Author, NYC); Dorothy Kalins (Editor, NYC); Barbara Lynch (Chef and Restaurateur, Boston); Zarela Martinez (Chef and Restaurateur, NYC); Michael Mina (Chef and Restaurateur, San Francisco); Bill Yosses (Pastry Chef and Author, Washington, D.C.)
• America's Classics: Kramarczuk's, Minneapolis (Owner: Orest Kramarczuk); Frank Fat's, Sacramento, CA (Owners: The Fat family); Prince's Hot Chicken Shack, Nashville (Owner: Andre Prince Jeffries); C.F. Folks, Washington, D.C. (Owner: Art Carlson); Keens Steakhouse, NYC (Owner: George Schwarz)
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Cecilia Chiang (Chef and Restaurateur, San Francisco)
• Humanitarian of the Year: Emeril Lagasse (James Beard Award–Winning Chef and Restaurateur, New Orleans)

Industry leaders from across the country attended the highly anticipated festivities, which celebrated this year's Awards theme of "Lights! Camera! Taste! Spotlight on Food & Film" in tribute to the role that food has played on the silver screen in America. The annual James Beard Foundation Awards honor the best and the brightest talents in the food and beverage industries, celebrating outstanding achievement in each of the following categories: Restaurant and Chef; Restaurant Design; Books; Broadcast and New Media; and Journalism; as well as several special achievement awards. Each category has an individual Awards Committee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedures, and selection of judges for their respective Awards programs. All award winners receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia. There are no cash prizes.

The 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards are presented with support by the following partners: Premier Sponsors: All-Clad Metalcrafters, Lenox Tableware and Gifts; Supporting Sponsors: Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water, Celebrity Cruises®, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, Lavazza, S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, Stella Artois®, Valrhona; Gala Reception Sponsors: Breville, Ecolab, Food Network & Cooking Channel, Pernod Ricard USA, Rums of Puerto Rico; and with additional support from BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival®, Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Chefwear.

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About the James Beard Foundation
Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, nurturing, and preserving America's diverse culinary heritage and future. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts, instilling in them the value of wholesome, healthful and delicious food. Today the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary students, publications, chef advocacy training, and thought-leader convening. The Foundation also maintains the historic James Beard House in New York City's Greenwich Village as a "performance space" for visiting chefs. In September of 2012, the Foundation launched the Diplomatic Culinary Partnership with the U.S. Department of State's Office of Protocol and helped create the American Chef Corps as a way to champion American chefs abroad, promote American food products and foster an interest in American culinary culture and history through international programs and initiatives. For more information, please visit jamesbeard.org. Find insights on food at the James Beard Foundation's blog Delights & Prejudices. Join the James Beard Foundation on Facebook. Follow the James Beard Foundation on Twitter and Instagram.

SOURCE James Beard Foundation