James Beard Foundation 2025 Media Award Nominees

The James Beard Foundation has announced the nominees for its 2025 Media Awards, which includes cookbooks. The Book Awards are open to cookbooks and other non-fiction food or beverage-related books that were published in the United States in 2024. In a press release, Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation, said “Congratulations to our 2025 Media Award nominees, whose exceptional storytelling deserves celebration. Through their work, they inspire us to reflect on the profound ways food touches and shapes our lives, society, and culture.”

The nominees include many of our favorite authors and EYB Members will recognize almost every book on this list including, in the Baking category:

• Sift: The Elements of Great Baking by Nicola Lamb
• The Elements of Baking: Making any Recipe Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free or Vegan by Katarina Cermelj
• Breaking Bao: 88 Bakes and Snacks from Asia and Beyond by Clarice Lam

The General category nominees are:

• Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Tara Wigley. Helen Goh and Verena Lochmuller
• Pass the Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes by Carolina Gelen
• Matty Matheson – Soups, Salads, Sandwiches by Matty Matheson

Additional nominees of note to our Members include:

• The Balkan Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of the Balkans by Irina Janakievska (International)
• Eleven Madison Park – The Plant-Based Chapter by Daniel Humm (Restaurant and Professional)
• The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans, from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen by Steve Sando (Single Subject)
• Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking: Vegan Recipes, Tips, and Techniques by Joe Yonan (Vegetable Focused)
• Modernist Bread at Home by Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya (Bread)
• Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life by Melissa M. Martin (US Foodways)
• The Bartender’s Pantry: A Beverage Handbook for the Universal Bar by Jim Meehan and Bart Sasso with Emma Janzen (Beverages with Recipes)

See all of the outstanding books vying for honors in each category on our James Beard 2025 page. There you will also find links to previous years’ nominees and winners. The JBF website also lists the nominees for a variety of categories in Broadcast Media, which includes traditional television and print journalism along with websites. The James Beard Foundation Media Awards ceremony will take place on the campus of Columbia College in Chicago on Saturday, June 14. Jane, Katie and myself will be attending the ceremony this year and I am proud to announce that I have been honored with an additional year on the Book Awards Committee.