OMNIVORACIOUS: James Beard Foundation Awards: 2008 Finalists Announced

Following last Monday's reveal of the 2008 IACP finalists, today the James Beard Foundation announced their nominees for 2008 (along with a snazzy update to their website). Hailed as "the Oscars of the food world," the Beards honor cookbooks, chefs, journalists, food writers, and food and beverage professionals. Winners will be announced in a black-tie ceremony at Lincoln Center on Sunday, June 8.

Ten Speed Press led the pack with the most IACP nominations and continues their run with the most James Beard nods (6 total, including their Celestial Arts imprint).

Titles Nominated in More Than One Category: The Country Cooking of France (International, Photography)

Total Nominations Per Publisher:

Ten Speed Press: 6
John Wiley & Sons: 5
HarperCollins: 4
Artisan: 3
Penguin Books: 3
Stewart, Tabori & Chang: 3
Chronicle Books: 2
University of California Press: 2
W.W. Norton & Company: 2
Bloomsbury: 1
DK Publishing: 1
Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 1
Flammarion: 1
Kyle Books: 1
Little, Brown & Co.: 1
Scribner: 1

Congratulations to Amazon in-house favorite Junot Díaz (who seems to make almost every book-awards shortlist), who was nominated for the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award in the Broadcast Media Awards category for his piece "He'll Take El Alto," which ran in last September's Gourmet. He's up against Alan Richman and Francine Prose.

And on the Seattle front, we raise a glass of Veuve to these local nominees:

Tom Douglas (Outstanding Restaurateur)
Canlis (Outstanding Service)
Maria Hines, Tilth (Best Chef: Northwest)
Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita (Best Chef: Northwest)
Ethan Stowell, Union (Best Chef: Northwest)
Jason Wilson, Crush (Best Chef: Northwest)
Maneki (American Classics Award)
Sara Dickerman (Multimedia Writings on Food)

2008 Finalists

Asian Cooking:
My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking by Niloufer Ichaporia King
Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop
The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco by Cecilia Chiang with Lisa Weiss

Baking and Dessert:
A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent
Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor by Peter Reinhart
Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

Cooking from a Professional Point of View:
Bistro Laurent Tourondel: New American Bistro Cooking by Laurent Tourondel and Michele Scicolone
The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine by The French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto

Entertaining:
Dish Entertains by Trish Magwood
Great Bar Food at Home by Kate Heyhoe
Welcome to Michael's: Great Food, Great People, Great Party! by Michael McCarthy

Americana:
The Glory of Southern Cooking by James Villas
A Love Affair with Southern Cooking by Jean Anderson
Rosa's New Mexican Table by Roberto Santibanez

General:
Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook by Jacques Pépin
Cooking by James Peterson
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman

Healthy Focus:
The EatingWell Diet by Jean Harvey-Berino with Joyce Hendley and the Editors of EatingWell
Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways to Incorporate Whole & Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking by Heidi Swanson
The Wine and Food Lover's Diet: 28 Days of Delicious Weight Loss by Phillip Tirman

International:
The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan
Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali
Two Meatballs in the Italian Kitchen by Pino Luongo and Mark Strausman

Reference:
Food: The History of Taste edited by Paul Freedman
A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America by Rowan Jacobsen
The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss

Single Subject:
Laura Werlin's Cheese Essentials by Laura Werlin
The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells

Wine and Spirits:
The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty by Julia Flynn Siler
Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar by David Wondrich
To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle by George M. Taber

Writing on Food:
American Food Writing: An Anthology with Classic Recipes edited by Molly O'Neill
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss-and the Myths and Realities of Dieting by Gina Kolata

Photography:
The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan; Photographer: France Ruffenach
Crust by Richard Bertinet; Photographer: Jean Cazals
Egg by Lyndsay and Patrick Mikanowski; Photographer: Grant Symon

--BTP