Celebrating Culinary Excellence: 2025 James Beard Media Awards

By Founder Success Magazine

Chicago, IL – On Saturday, June 14, 2025, the nation’s top culinary storytellers, authors, and content creators were honored at the James Beard Media Awards, presented by Capital One. From cookbooks to podcasts, social media channels to broadcast productions, the event celebrated the creativity, innovation, and passion that fuel America’s food media landscape.

“Tonight is about celebrating the voices that shape how we experience food, drink, and culture,” said the James Beard Foundation. “These winners inspire, inform, and connect communities through the universal language of food.”

2025 James Beard Foundation Book Award Winners

The Book Awards recognize exceptional nonfiction works on food and beverages published in the U.S. in 2024. Here are the shining stars:

Baking and Desserts

• Sift: The Elements of Great Baking – Nicola Lamb (Clarkson Potter)

Beverage with Recipes

• The Bartender’s Pantry: A Beverage Handbook for the Universal Bar – Emma Janzen, Jim Meehan, Bart Sasso (Ten Speed Press)

Beverage without Recipes

• Sake: The Art and Craft of Japan’s National Drink – Yoshiko Ueno-Müller (Prestel)

Bread

• Richard Hart Bread: Intuitive Sourdough Baking – Richard Hart, Henrietta Lovell, Laurie Woolever (Clarkson Potter)

Food Issues and Advocacy

• Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch – Andrea Freeman (Metropolitan Books)

General

• Pass the Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes: A Cookbook – Carolina Gelen (Clarkson Potter)

International

• The Balkan Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of the Balkans – Irina Janakievska (Quadrille)

Why It Matters

The James Beard Media Awards are more than trophies—they honor the storytellers who shape our culinary imagination. From innovative recipes to deep dives into food culture, these winners exemplify the power of storytelling to educate, inspire, and connect communities across the globe.

Chicago served as the perfect backdrop for this celebration, uniting chefs, authors, and media creators in an evening that blended elegance, passion, and creativity.

For Founder Success Magazine, the 2025 James Beard Media Awards are a reminder: in the world of food, creativity and excellence are always worth celebrating.