The annual James Beard Foundation Awards took place on Monday, May 7, 2012, at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.
The James Beard Foundation Awards honor the best and brightest talent in the food and beverage industries, celebrating outstanding achievement in categories like Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design and Graphics, Books, Broadcast and New Media, and Journalism, as well as several special achievement awards. Each category has an individual Awards Committee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedure, and selection of judges for their respective Awards program. All award winners receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia.
This year's awards, themed "25 Years of Food at its Best" in honor of the Foundation's silver anniversary was hosted by by chef and television personality Alton Brown.
Some of this year's winners include:
Best New Restaurant: Next, Chicago
Outstanding Restaurant: Boulevard, San Francisco
Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional: Paul Grieco of Terroir, NYC
Outstanding Wine Program: No. 9 Park, Boston
Outstanding Bar Program: PDT, NYC
Outstanding Service: La Grenouille, NYC
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Mindy Segal of Mindy's Hot Chocolate, Chicago
Outstanding Restaurateur: Tom Douglas, Tom Douglas Restaurants
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar, NYC
Outstanding Chef: Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park, NYC
Lifetime Achievement Award: Wolfgang Puck, Chef and Restaurateur
Winners of the Foundation's annual Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards were presented on May 4, at the ceremony and dinner at Gotham Hall in New York city, co-hosted by celebrity chef Michael Symon and CBS News Correspondent Martha Teichner.
A complete list of all award winners can be found at www.jamesbeard.org.