James Beard Media Award nominees for 2026

Yesterday the James Beard Foundation announced its 2026 Media Awards Nominees. “We’re honored to announce this year’s James Beard Media Awards nominees—exceptional storytellers who are shaping how we understand the world through food,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation. “Through their work, they bring meaning and perspective to the stories behind what we eat and drink, illuminating the people, places, and experiences that move our culture forward. It is a privilege to recognize them.”

The James Beard Media Awards ceremony will take place at the renowned Art Institute of Chicago on Saturday, June 13. Now on to the main event – the 2026 Book Award nominees. Below are nominees for six major categories – you can see the full list for all categories on our James Beard Foundation Nominees 2026 page.

Baking

• Baking & the Meaning of Life: How to Find Joy in 100 Recipes by Helen Goh (EYBDigital Preview)
• Dobre Dobre: Baking from Poland and Beyond by Laurel Kratochvila
• Mali Bakes: Make and Decorate the Retro Cakes of your Dreams by Patti Chimkire

General 

• By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear by Hailee Catalano (EYBDigital Preview)
• Flavour Heroes: 15 Modern Pantry Ingredients to Amplify Your Cooking by Gurdeep Loyal
• Something from Nothing by Alison Roman

International

• Ghana to the World: Recipes and Stories That Look Forward While Honoring the Past by Eric Adjepong and Korsha Wilson (EYBDigital Preview)
• Kin – Caribbean Recipes for the Modern Kitchen by Marie Mitchell
• Thai: Anywhere and Everywhere by Nat Thaipun (EYBDigital Preview)

Single Subject

• Homemade Ramen by Sho Spaeth
• The Japanese Art of Pickling and Fermenting: Preserving Vegetables and Family Traditions by Yoko Nakazawa
• Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream by Nicholas Morgenstern

US Foodways

• Kwéyòl / Creole: Recipes, Stories, and Tings from a St. Lucian Chef’s Journey by Nina Compton
• Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Sean Sherman (EYBDigital Preview)
• Umma – A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes by America’s Test Kitchen and Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn

Vegetable-Focused Cooking

• Comida Casera: More Than 100 Vegan Recipes, from Traditional to Modern Mexican Dishes by Dora Ramírez
• Dal Chawal: 85 Vegetarian Indian Recipes Combining the Power of Dal and Rice by Sapna Punjabi (EYBDigital Preview)
• The Korean Vegan – Homemade: Recipes and Stories from My Kitchen by Joanne Lee Molinaro

In addition to the book awards, the nominees for Broadcast Media Awards and Journalism Awards. Here are highlights of the Broadcast nominees:

Audio Programming 

• The Food Chain – “A place at the table: fostering and adoption”
• Heard Podcast: Become a Better Chef – “A place at the table: fostering and adoption”
• Roadside Terroir – “Why Farming Matters”

Documentary Visual Media

• Finding Edna Lewis
• Raoul’s, A New York Story
• The Soil Remembers

Instructional Visual Media

• Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television
• Flavor Forward
• Pati’s Mexican Table

Lifestyle Visual Media

• Duck Camp Dinners, The Texas Tour
• Lidia Celebrates America: A Nation of Neighbors
• Relish

Social Media 

• Day With Mei
• Made By Musashi
• Michael Ligier

Travel Visual Media

• Pati Jinich Explores PanAmericana
• Somebody Feed Phil
• Tucci in Italy

The full list of nominees, which include candidates for Book, Broadcast Media, and Journalism Awards, can be found on the James Beard Foundation website. You can see a listing of all Book Award nominees on our 2026 James Beard Foundation Awards page.