Spotlighting Our James Beard Media Award Nominees
Image courtesy of beardfoundation Instagram.
Each year, the James Beard Media Awards® celebrate the very best in food storytelling. The Book Awards honor cookbooks and other nonfiction food and beverage titles. We’re thrilled to share that sixteen Penguin Random House titles have been nominated!
This year’s Media Awards Ceremony will mark a first for the awards, with winners to be announced at the renowned Art Institute of Chicago. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 13, bringing together talented individuals and teams from every corner of food media. The evening will close with a reception featuring Chicago chefs and a taste of the city’s vibrant culinary scene.
To be eligible, books must be published in the United States in 2025. Books from foreign publishers must bear a 2025 U.S. copyright date and/or must have been distributed in the U.S. during 2025.
Congratulations to our authors and teams whose creativity, care, and hard work helped bring these incredible projects to life. We’ll be cheering them on and keeping our fingers crossed for next month’s ceremony!
Take a look at our nominees below.
Beverage WITH Recipes
Books with recipes focused on beverages, such as cocktails, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, or juices.
SOJU PARTY: How to Drink (and Eat!) Like a Korean by Irene Yoo (Alfred A. Knopf)
THREE CHEERS: Cocktails Three Ways: Classics, Riffs, and Zero-Proof Sips by Kaitlyn Stewart (Ten Speed Press)
Beverage without Recipes
Books without recipes that focus on beverages, such as cocktails, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, or juices; or books that cover these subject areas where recipes are not the focus.
WINE SIMPLE: Perfect Pairings: An Ingenious Guide to Enjoying Wine with Food by Aldo Sohm with Christine Muhlke (Clarkson Potter)
Food Issues and Advocacy
Books that focus on investigative journalism, food policy, food advocacy, deep dives, and critical analysis of the changing social landscape around food.
THE LOBSTER TRAP: The Global Fight for a Seafood on the Brink by Greg Mercer (McClelland & Stewart; Penguin Random House Canada)
General
Books with recipes that address a broad scope of cooking, not just a single topic, technique, or region, and are accessible to a general audience.
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: A Cookbook by Alison Roman (Clarkson Potter)
FLAVOUR HEROES: 15 Modern Pantry Ingredients to Amplify Your Cooking by Gurdeep Loyal (Quadrille; Penguin Random House UK)
BY HEART: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear by Hailee Catalano (DK)
International
Books with recipes focused on presenting cuisines of the world in their cultural context: their history, distinctive characteristics, and techniques.
GHANA TO THE WORLD: Recipes and Stories That Look Forward While Honoring the Past by Eric Adjepong with Korsha Wilson (Clarkson Potter)
Literary Writing
Narrative nonfiction books, including memoirs, culinary travel, culinary tourism, biography, reflections on food in a cultural context, and personal essays.
THE LAST SWEET BITE: Stories and Recipes of Culinary Heritage Lost and Found by Michael Shaikh (Crown)
STRONG ROOTS: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Ukraine by Olia Hercules (Alfred A. Knopf)
Professional and Restaurant
Books written by a culinary professional or restaurant chef with recipes that may include advanced cooking techniques, the use of specialty ingredients, and professional equipment, including culinary arts textbooks.
COOK LIKE A KING: Recipes from My California Chinese Kitchen by Melissa King with JJ Goode (Ten Speed Press)
Single Subject
Books with recipes focused on a single ingredient, dish, or method of cooking.
MORGENSTERN’S FINEST ICE CREAM by Nick Morgenstern (Alfred A. Knopf)
U.S. Foodways
Books with recipes focused on the cooking or foodways of regions or communities located within the United States.
KWÉYÒL / CREOLE: Recipes, Stories, and Tings from a St. Lucian Chef’s Journey: A Cookbook by Nina Compton and Osayi Endolyn (Clarkson Potter)
TURTLE ISLAND: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Kristin Donnelly, Kate Nelson, and Sean Sherman (Clarkson Potter)
Vegetable-Focused Cooking
Books on vegetable cookery with recipes that are meatless, vegetarian, or vegan.
THE KOREAN VEGAN: Homemade: Recipes and Stories from My Kitchen by Joanne Lee Molinaro (Avery)