The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit

culinary arts Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

organization based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was named after

James Beard James Andrews Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 21, 1985) was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside ...

, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for aspiring culinary students, educational conferences, and industry awards. In the spirit of James Beard's legacy, the foundation creates programs that help educate people about American cuisine, and supports and promotes the chefs and other industry professionals.

History

The foundation was started in 1986 by

Peter Kump Peter Clark Kump (October 22, 1937 – June 7, 1995) was an American figure in the culinary arts. The founder of Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School, he also co-founded the James Beard Foundation with Julia Child. Biography Kump was born in F ...

, a former student of James Beard who also founded the

Institute of Culinary Education The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) is a private for-profit culinary school with locations in New York City and Los Angeles, accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). It offers career training, dip ...

. At

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...

's suggestion, Kump purchased Beard's New York brownstone townhouse at 167 West 12th Street in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

and preserved it as a gathering place where the general public and press alike would be able to appreciate the talents of established and emerging chefs. The first such dinner was at the suggestion of

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur. Early life Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...

in 1987. Puck cooked a dinner to raise money and Kump later established it as a monthly event. Leonard F. Pickell Jr. was nominated as president of the foundation in 1995. In August 2004, shortly before the results of a three-month audit were to be announced, he resigned. He was charged with

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

in late September, having misused the foundation's finances for unnecessary and undocumented expenses. Pickell later pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny and a $1.1 million theft. As a result of the scandal and his indictment by the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

's Office, the members of the board of the foundation were asked to resign in January 2005. In January 2006, the reconstituted board, under the direction of interim president Edna Morris, initiated a search for a permanent president of the foundation. In April of that year Susan Ungaro, formerly editor-in-chief of ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American women's magazine that covered topics such as homemaking, recipes and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a grou ...

'' magazine from 1976 to 2005, was appointed president. Following the scandal, the foundation also made changes such as creating a salary for the president, CFO, auditors and a larger staff. The foundation lost about $1 million under Pickell's leadership, and paid approximately $750,000 in legal and accounting fees. Sponsorships, donations, and event revenues also dropped after the scandal broke prompting the foundation to take out a $2 million mortgage on the Beard home, the only asset. In October 2007, the board announced that Woodrow W. Campbell, senior partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, would be taking over chairmanship of the board after the resignation of Dorothy Cann Hamilton who served since 2005. During her presidency, Susan Ungaro increased the organization's income, tripling it to roughly $12 million, with a $400,000 surplus. She also expanded the foundation's culinary scholarship program; increased its membership base with a new online enrollment program; moved the annual James Beard Foundation Awards Gala to Lincoln Center and then Chicago; and hosted the James Beard Foundation's traveling national food festival. In 2018, Clare Reichenbach was unanimously selected by the board as the foundation's new chief executive, replacing Susan Ungaro. Reichenbach's background is in marketing and consulting, rather than food.

Criticism

In fall 2023, the foundation came under fire for disproportionate representation of white males.

Programs

Dinners

Each year, the James Beard House hosts over 200 dinners featuring selected chefs who prepare tasting menus in the Beard House kitchen.

Greens

James Beard Foundation Greens events are for New York City food lovers under 40 to experience various culinary experiences and network. Most events take place outside the foundation's West Village townhouse and various locations around the city. Founded during Susan Ungaro's tenure as president of the foundation, the organization hopes to continue attracting younger audiences through these events.

Awards

The "Oscars of the food world" are held annually to honor exceptional chefs and journalists. The premier Awards gala is held on the first Monday in May and features a ceremony and a chef's tasting reception. The foundation's awards for journalism, books, and other media are held on a separate day. In 2014, the board elected to move the Restaurant and Chef Awards from

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

in New York to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

after Chicago appealed to the foundation to move the event. The volunteer committee that presides over the awards distribution issued a criticism of the organization after being asked to conduct a recount of the 2020 voting when no black awardees were selected for the 23 categories. The 2020 awards were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and ultimately the foundation decided to not announce any winners and cancel the 2021 awards. According to the committee, these cancellations were a result of the controversy and several attempts by the foundation to alter the established awards procedures.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in New York City Organizations established in 1986 Arts organizations based in New York City Culinary professional associations 1986 establishments in New York City