by POPSUGAR Food 3

Last night the who's who of the food world all came out for the James Beard Foundation Awards. If you're not sure what that is, let me just say that it's sort of like the Oscars of the food world. They give awards to several categories of cookbooks, journalism, chefs, media, and more (including humanitarian & lifetime achievement awards). The "They" is a group of Awards Committees consisting of food-industry professionals. The judges are chosen by the committees and choose the winners by reviewing all entries and voting via secret ballot. Oh and just to be fair, if you're a judge, you can't enter to win in that category.

So now that all the rules and regulations are spelled out let's talk about the winners. The big "star" of the night was David Chang (pictured) of Momofuku in New York who won the award for Rising Star Chef of Year. Also noteworthy was Traci Des Jardins of Rubicon here in San Francisco, she was one of the few female chefs to win anything (she won the Pacific regional award for Best Chef).

For the list of winners and a gallery of folks on the red carpet, including: Martha Stewart, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi with NY's Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Salman Rushdie and Bobby Flay (who was inducted into the Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America), read more

Winners list after the gallery. Check out the James Beard Foundation website for a full list of winners (including nominees).

RESTAURANT AND CHEF AWARDS
• Outstanding Restaurateur Award
  Thomas Keller of The French Laundry
• Outstanding Chef Award
  Michel Richard of Michel Richard Citronelle
• Outstanding Restaurant Award
  Frontera Grill Chef/Owners: Rick and Deann Bayless
• Best New Restaurant
  L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
• Rising Star Chef Of The Year
  David Chang of Momofuku Noodle Bar
• Outstanding Pastry Chef Award
  Michael Laskonis of Le Bernardin
• Outstanding Wine Service Award
  Michel Richard Citronelle - Wine Director: Mark Slater
• Outstanding Wine And Spirits Professional Award
  Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards
• Outstanding Service Award
  Tru Owners: Rick Tramonto, Gale Gand, and Richard Melman

BEST CHEFS IN AMERICA

• Best Chef: Great Lakes
  Grant Achatz Of Alinea
• Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
  R. J. Cooper III of Vidalia
  Frank Ruta of Palena
• Best Chef: Midwest
  Celina Tio of The American Restaurant
• Best Chef: New York City (Five Boroughs)
  David Waltuck of Chanterelle
• Best Chef: Northeast
  Frank Mcclelland of L’espalier

• Best Chef: Northwest
  John Sundstrom of Lark
• Best Chef: Pacific
  Traci Des Jardins of Jardinière
• Best Chef: Southeast
  Scott Peacock of Watershed
• Best Chef: Southwest
  Nobuo Fukuda of Sea Saw
• Best Chef: South
  Donald Link of Herbsaint

AMERICA’S CLASSICS
• Aunt Carrie’s Owner: Elsie Foy
• Brookville Hotel Owners: Mark and Connie Martin
• Doe’s Eat Place Owners: The Signa Family
• The Pickwick Owner: Christopher Wisocki
• Primanti Brothers President: Demetrios Patrinos
• Weaver D’s Owner: Dexter Weaver

BOOK AWARDS
• Cookbook of the Year
  The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
  Matt Lee and Ted Lee
• Cookbook Hall of Fame
  Moosewood Cookbook
  Mollie Katzen
• Asian Cooking
  Cradle of Flavor
  James Oseland
• Baking and Desserts
  Baking: From My Home to Yours
  Dorie Greenspan
• Cooking from a Professional Point of View
  Grand Livre de Cuisine: Alain Ducasse’s Desserts and Pastries
  Alain Ducasse and Frédéric Robert
• Entertaining and Special Occasions
  The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining
  Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison
• Food of the Americas
  The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
  Matt Lee and Ted Lee
• General
  Tasty: Get Great Food on the Table Every Day
  Roy Finamore
• Healthy Focus
  Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way
  Lorna Sass
• International
  The Soul of a New Cuisine
  Marcus Samuelsson
• Reference
  What to Eat
  Marion Nestle
• Single Subject
  The Essence of Chocolate
  John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg
• Wine and Spirits
  Romancing the Vine
  Alan Tardi
• Writing on Food
  The Omnivore’s Dilemma
  Michael Pollan
• Photography
  Michael Mina
  Photographer: Karl Petzke

HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR
• Art Smith

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
• Barbara Kafka

WHO’S WHO OF FOOD & BEVERAGE IN AMERICA
• José Andrés
• Jim Clendenen
• Bobby Flay
• Dorie Greenspan
• Michael Pollan

Full list of winners - including nominees

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