Immigrants have helped change how America eats. Now they dominate top culinary awards

Immigrant chefs are dominating top culinary awards, including the James Beard Foundation Awards.

The big picture: Over half of the 75 finalists for the chef and baker awards are immigrants or children of immigrants from different parts of the world.
* This reflects a shift in the James Beard Awards, as well as a change in what chefs are cooking and diners’ preferences.

Change in awards: The James Beard Foundation canceled its 2020 annual awards due to COVID-19 and concerns about a lack of diversity among winners. When awards returned, the focus shifted to racial and gender equity and sustainability.
* Last year’s winners included Cristina Martinez, an undocumented immigrant, and Mashama Bailey for their work in Philadelphia and Savannah, Georgia, respectively.

Variety in location: Immigrant chefs are thriving not just in big cities, but also in smaller locations, with finalists including a Laotian restaurant in Oklahoma City, a Lebanese chef in Salt Lake City, and a Peruvian restaurant in West Hartford, Connecticut.

View original article on NPR

This summary was created by an AI system. The use of this summary is subject to our Terms of Service.

Contact us about this post

Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *