On April 30, the James Beard Foundation announced the nominees for its 2024 Media Awards. Eater is the most nominated publication, with recognitions in four categories across video, features, and design.
Eater Video is a finalist in the category of Commercial Media for an episode of its ongoing series Vendors. The nominated episode, “Why One of The Best Restaurants in America Buy Its Oysters from the McIntosh Family,” follows Earnest McIntosh Sr. and his family as they run one of last oyster farms in Georgia. Earnest McIntosh Sr. has been in the oyster farming business for nearly 50 years, having started with his father on his crabbing business which eventually turned into the oyster farm it is now. Eater’s video team previously won a James Beard Award in 2020 for Handmade, a series that spotlights the makers behind products that supply top restaurants.
Eater is also nominated in the Innovative Visual Storytelling category for “The Eater College Dining Plan,” a comprehensive guide detailing the best places to eat and drink near campuses around the country. Through interactive design, thoughtful editorial, and local expertise from a network of contributors, the package explores the collegiate food experience, from dining-related rituals passed down from class to class to food innovations that began in dorm rooms. At HBCUs and Ivies, state and commuter schools, Eater dug deep to find the most iconic aspects of dining that bring together college communities.
Eater is also a finalist in two writing categories. Eater is nominated in the Home Cooking category for “Lost in the Stock,” contributor Noah Galuten’s quest to find out exactly what goes into chicken stock, a mission that turned out to symbolize the food industrial complex as a whole.
In the Personal Essay with Recipes category, contributor Angela Burke is nominated for “The Sweet Solace of Grief Baking,” in which Burke traces the history of mincemeat through Black foodways and offers her own recipe for the dish, all while discussing how she’s dealt with the loss of her dad while raising two small children. Burke’s story was part of Eater’s “The Feasts We Remember,” a collection of essays on the connections we make with and through food during the winter holidays.
Alongside those four nominations, Gastropod, a podcast partner to Eater, also received a nomination in the Audio Programming category for the episode “Meet Taro, the Poke Bowl’s Missing Secret Ingredient.” Hosted by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley, Gastropod explores food topics through the lens of history and science.
These nominations add to the long list of James Beard Foundation recognitions awarded to Eater, including six nominations in 2023 and 12 total wins overall.
Winners of the 2024 James Beard Media awards will be announced live in Chicago on June 8.
