James Beard Nominees I'm Rooting for, and Why

The Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan; Category: Books, Writing on Food

This book was a journalist's exploration of our food chains, and it finally brought together all the damning evidence for the indictment against industrial food. It encouraged the reader to consider whether he or she should really feel all that responsible for shopping at Whole Foods, and provided an extensive description of what a local farm is, what it can grow and provide, how it might help the local community and ecology, and the obstacles that it faces from government and business. The section on the hunter-gatherer meal was fun and highly personal, and provided a great ending to a very journalistic work of nonfiction.

"2006 Food Issue: From the Farm to Your Table" by Besha Rodell, Creative Loafing Atlanta
Category: Journalism, Newspaper Feature Writing About Restaurants and/or Chefs, With or Without Feature Writing

This nominee, like all the ones that follow, is from Atlanta, and I have a ton of local pride. This article discussed various options for local food in Atlanta, and interviewed four chefs and a farmer. You can read it here.

"SUSHI USA; What does Chinese food have in common with tomatoes, pizza, parmesan cheese, peas and also sushi? Umami" by John Kessler, AJC
Category: Journalism, Newspaper Feature Writing with Recipes

I've been reading Kessler for at least the past eight years, first his reviews, then his food writing after every restaurant in Atlanta had identified him. This is the man whose words first got me to thinking about food as something beyond good or bad, but as something infinitely diverse, complex, individualistic, and vested with significant personal meaning. When he was a reviewer and found himself at a Vietnamese place, he would explain to the reader what pho was, what bun was, what they should taste like, and then compare this ideal to the restaurant. It was invaluable for a teenager who really wasn't that familiar with food, and his reviews and columns are the reasons that I have cravings as specific as "I need Nau Num Tuk from Little Bangkok right now." This piece is part of a five part series about Japanese food. Unfortunately, the AJC is bolstering Atlanta's provincial reputation; they've published multiple articles about the nominations, and have other Kessler articles back to 2003. They have not republished the original series on the site, and there's no sign on the AJC's site that the series ever existed. Idiots.

"The Pit and the Pendulum", "Roadside Renaissance", "Where Coconut Cake meets Sweet Tea Pie" by John T. Edge, AJC
Category: Journalism, Newspaper, Newsletter or Magazine Columns

One thing the AJC has done right in the past twelve months is this: they've introduced a weekly feature that explores traditional Southern food. It's always a quick, interesting read, and Edge manages to update some very old, very traditional recipes, in the hopes that our modern Southerners will one day welcome ingredients like sorghum syrup back into the pantry.
Edge is also the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, which has worked with multiple local writers to produce some very good Southern Food articles and series. The alliance's work has become more important in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
They've also decided that these articles were published, which is a plus.

"The Pit and the Pendulum"

"Roadside Renaissance"

"Where Coconut Cake Meets Sweet Tea Pie"

Finally, while I've read great things about Hugh Acheson and Arnaud Berthelier and their restaurants, I'm rooting for Scott Peacock for Best Chef Southeast. His book with Edna Lewis was so pleasant that I racked up a $20 late fee from the local library, and while I haven't made it to Fried Chicken Tuesday yet (and certainly won't tonight), his food is very good, and very Southern.

Now, off to pen a harangue to the JBF bigwigs about Feasting on Asphalt, and why they're philistines for not nominating it.