There are two major cookbook awards each year, including the James Beard Foundation which today listed the finalists for its competition. The winners will be announced on May 2.
A few weeks ago, the International Association of Culinary Professionals listed its nominees for its own cookbook awards. You can find them here in an earlier blog post.
The awards are a big deal for cookbook authors, even though the awards rarely make a difference in sales. They do, however, provide opportunity for authors and make future projects more do-able and with larger advances.
See if any of your favorites made this list. I found a few of mine.
2010 James Beard Nominees
American Cooking
"My New Orleans," by by John Besh
"Real Cajun," by Donald Link with Paula Disbrowe
"The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor," by Matt Lee, Ted Lee
Baking and Dessert
"Baking," by James Peterson
"DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style," by David Guas, Raquel Pelzel
"Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day," by Peter Reinhart
Beverage
"Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology," by Randall Grahm
"The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire," by Linda Himelstein
"World Whisky," by Charles Maclean
Cooking from a Professional Point of View
"Araxi: Seasonal Recipes from the Celebrated Whistler Restaurant," by James Walt
"Momofuku," by David Chang, Peter Meehan
"The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts," by The French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate
