James Beard Cookbook Award nominees

March 15, 2017 by
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Today the James Beard Foundation announced its 2017 cookbook award nominees. As usual, there is some overlap between this list and the IACP contenders, but in many categories the books are completely different. Deep Run Roots, which was the runaway winner at IACP – snagging several awards including Cookbook of the Year – is represented here in only one group: American Cooking. Joining it in that category are My Two Souths by Asha Gomez and Victuals  by Ronni Lundy, offering the latter cookbook a chance at the victory it was denied at IACP. 

Dorie's CookiesFans of Dorie Greenspan will be relieved to see Dorie’s Cookies in the JBF list. This EYB Member favorite faces stiff competition in the Baking and Dessert category with another Member favorite not on the IACP list, Art of the Pie by Kate McDermott. Breaking Breads  by Uri Scheft, the third contender here, is no slouch either. 

The General category features three completely different books than IACP: Cooking for Jeffrey by Ina Garten,  Cook’s Science by Guy Crosby Ph.D and Cook’s Illustrated Magazine, and Eat in My Kitchen by Meike Peters. Peters’ book is the current focus of the Cookbook Junkies Cookbook Club. 

Lickerland cookbookOne book that completely slipped under our radar is in the Cooking from a Professional Point of View grouping. Lickerland: Asian-Accented Desserts by Jason Licker is the first effort from an “All-American fat kid” who went on to win Iron Chef Thailand. The book is a collection of the sublime creations and incredible life experiences that led Jason to over a decade of working in Asia. 

Some of the stiffest competition is in the International category, where All Under Heaven by Carolyn Phillips goes up against Land of Fish and Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop and Taste of Persia by Naomi Duguid. Talented female cookbook writers dominate much of this year’s competition.

The categories have remained nearly the same from previous year, with one small tweak and one larger change. The former Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian has morped into the shorter Vegetable-Cooking, while the Food Writing and Literature category completely transformed into the more limiting Nonfiction. (Does this say something about the JBF or the state of fiction food literature?) You can see all of the nominees on the EYB community page. The winners of the JBF awards will be announced on April 25, 2017; watch this blog for the results.

Category: Book News

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6 Comments

  • Jenny  on  March 15, 2017

    And guess who order Lickerland moments after I read the news. This ain't my first rodeo.

  • darcie_b  on  March 15, 2017

    Let us know what you think…I just received a big Amazon order so have to wait a bit before indulging again.

  • Jenny  on  March 15, 2017

    I will it was from the author's store. I hope he signs it.

  • annmartina  on  March 16, 2017

    I had never heard of Lickerland until now and I'm intrigued. Tell us more. Amazon doesn't have a preview.

  • ellabee  on  March 16, 2017

    Surprised that All Under Heaven was completely ignored by IACP this year, I wondered if Ten Speed Press were simply not promoting it. That impression was only deepened by a visit to the publisher's website, where it was completely absent from their Fall 2016 catalog. Nor was it part of the Piglet bracket, but that was no shock; its scope and substance don't really lend themselves to a clickbait-y hipness-fest. [Do I sound cranky? Blame a long day of real-world dismay.] So it's a real lift to see AUH as a finalist for the Beard, even if it's a dark horse. Now that the finalists have been announced, maybe it'll be given a smidge of attention somewhere on the Ten Speed site.

  • kmcdermott  on  March 26, 2017

    Art of the Pie was on the IACP nomination list in the categories of Single Subject and also Photography and Food Styling. 🙂

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