James Beard completed his first cookbook in 1940

'I Love to Eat' was the first nationally televised cooking show

Beard’s show, cohosted with Julia Child, debuted in 1946. It was invaluable in setting the stage for today’s massive trove of televised and online cooking content.

Some call Beard the original 'foodie'

James Beard came of age when home cooking revolved around canned and frozen ingredients. Likewise, West Coast cuisine wasn’t on anyone’s radar. Beard’s appreciation of fresh, seasonal ingredients and regional influences provided a foundation for today’s movement toward local, farm-to-table cooking and the foodies who seek it out.

James Beard and Julia Child were close friends and collaborators

The duo met when she was promoting her seminal book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in 1961. They quickly bonded, even referring to themselves as “Jiji,” a combination of Julia and Jim. Child, though, was initially prejudiced against Beard for being openly gay, which was rarer at that time.

The James Beard Awards are sometimes called the Oscars of food because they spotlight the best of the industry.

Beard and his eponymous awards help define 'American cuisine'

Beard sought to fuse classic American dishes, like casseroles, with international flavors and locally-sourced ingredients. The James Beard Awards often reflect the eclecticism, honoring American chefs inspired by Filipino, Nigerian, French, and other traditions.

Beard was influenced by his godfather, a Chinese-born cook

Beard made no secret of the impact that Jue-Let, his godfather, had on his own love of food and cooking. Beard wrote about Let, though he has still been relegated to the annals of American cooking, something historians say is unfortunately common for minorities.

Thousands of chefs, writers, and broadcasters have won James Beard Awards

The annual awards recognize excellence in food, both in its creation and criticism. Notable past winners include Nina Compton, Ina Garten, and Grant Achatz

The Oscars of food

Every year, the James Beard Awards spotlight the best in food, media, and hospitality—often called the “Oscars of the food world.” But behind the prestige is the story of James Beard himself: a failed actor turned culinary icon.

Watch someone follow an early American recipe using 19th-century technology

Following an old cookbook, one woman makes meatballs, pastries, potatoes, and spinach over her fireplace. The springtime dinner is taken from a 1778 book titled The Art of Cookery, which remained a bestseller throughout the 1820s.

The James Beard Awards invited controversy by evaluating character

When the foundation initially asked judges to start considering chefs’ personal conduct in 2018, there was little pushback. By the time the 2023 awards rolled around, that was no longer the case. A chef’s nomination was pulled due to allegations of bullying, causing several previous winners to renounce their awards.

France's first restaurant guide, 'Almanach des Gourmands,' helped spread the restaurant concept across Europe and the US.

Winning a James Beard Award can have mixed effects

Winning the honor doesn't mean a restaurant will be set for the future. Most found that while winning gave an initial bump in the number of reservations, that pattern didn’t necessarily hold for long enough to make a real difference in the numbers.

The James Beard Awards consider character as well as cuisine

In 2018, the foundation announced several changes to the nomination and judging process. One of them was the directive to consider nominees’ behavior, which came after several prominent previous winners were accused of sexual harassment.

Historians believe the first modern restaurant was opened in 1765

A Parisian soup salesman named Boulanger is often credited with opening the first modern restaurant and was renowned for serving meat in poulette sauce.

Craig Claiborne invented the modern food critic

The New York Times critic began his column "Directory to Dining" in 1962. While there had been restaurant reviews before then, Claiborne's ethical standards and appreciation for a variety of cuisines established a new kind of food critic and, in the process, a new kind of eater. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

There's no definitive proof that Boulanger, the supposed inventor of the restaurant, ever lived

Legend has it that Boulanger's Paris soup shop was the first modern restaurant, but historian Rebecca Spang found no definitive proof that he ever lived. She did, however, find multiple documents referencing a different 18th-century Parisian, Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau, as the "creator" of restaurants. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The James Beard Foundation rebranded in 2025

Design firm Siberia emphasized the foundation's mission: "good food for good." This case study from Print isn't just a fascinating look at one campaign—it’s a primer on understanding how design works.

19th-century Russian writer Leo Tolstoy made a mean macaroni and cheese

He may be best known as the author of classics like "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina," but he was also an amateur chef, something that was revealed with the publication of "Leo Tolstoy's Family Recipe Book," which includes a rather open-ended recipe for macaroni and cheese.

Cookout and barbecue culture boomed in post-war 1950s America

Magazines like "Life" fueled the outdoor cooking craze, and by 1955, barbecue had grown into a $100 million industry. American Studies scholar Kristin L. Matthews explains that the trend fit neatly with Cold War-era consumerism and the emphasis on home ownership.

In 2021, the James Beard Awards began focusing on 'equity and sustainability'

Following accusations that the awards’ judges and winners were overwhelmingly white and male, the foundation conducted a 2021 audit focused on “equity and sustainability”; subsequent awards have been notably more diverse.

Cook’s ‘Travellers Handbooks’ were precursors to the travel guide

Long before Rick Steves or Lonely Planet, Thomas Cook’s “Travellers Handbooks” offered maps, recommendations, and tips for 19th-century tourists in unfamiliar locations.

Beard sometimes downplayed his sexual orientation

Beard was a gay man living at a time when many gay people hid their orientation, fearing prejudice and violence. Considering that, Beard sometimes downplayed his identity in public, though he officially came out in 1981 in his memoir.

The history of molecular gastronomy, from thickening yolks with alcohol to making art with food

Before understanding why they worked, humans used scientific principles, including designing solutions and analyzing outcomes, to develop preservation methods like curing meat and fermenting vegetables. By the 20th century, the application of industrialized food preparation to smaller kitchens set the stage for the subdiscipline of food science.

Explore the history of American restaurants through an archive of menus dating back to the early 1800s.

British beard history, 101

The beard has gone in and out of fashion for centuries in Britain. It was hated in the 18th century but became a must in the 19th. This quick list rehashes 15 fascinating tidbits about the beard, including possible useful functions for them (a beard is equivalent to an SPF 21 sunscreen) and how barbers were often also surgeons.

The origins of the Guinness Book of World Records

Yes, it was the beer company that started it. In 1955, the very first edition of the Guinness Book of World Records debuted as a marketing campaign for the famous Irish beer brand. Get all the details on the origins here.

Why the James Beard Awards finally recognized a coffee professional

Jack Benchakul is the sole coffee maker at Los Angeles' Endorffeine and the first in the coffee world to be recognized by the prestigious food and drink awards. His attention to detail mirrors the level of craft cocktail makers whom the awards have historically praised.

James Hemings, Jefferson's cook, popularized mac and cheese in the US

The statesman sent Hemings to France to sharpen his culinary skills where he picked up recipes of baked pasta with cheese and butter. The recipe Hemings likely dictated to Jefferson was later used in an 1802 White House dinner, the first major public dinner in the US to include the dish.

'This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun.'

- Chef Julia Child (1912-2004)

The GI Bill—the 1944 legislation that gave World War II veterans benefits including funding for college—helped build the first college jazz programs.

Delmonico's was the first American fine-dining restaurant

The steakhouse opened in 1837 in Manhattan, creating what is now considered the first fine-dining restaurant in the United States, introducing gloved waiters, white tablecloths, and an à la carte menu. The establishment also claims it invented a few American staples, including eggs Benedict, which was supposedly named after two loyal customers.

How Chef Boyardee fed America

Chef Boyardee wasn’t just a grocery store staple—it was once a key supplier for US troops in WWII. Founded by Italian immigrant Hector Boiardi, the company produced thousands of canned pasta rations daily.

Jeff Bezos started his career working at McDonald’s

He now claims that his high school gig at the fast food restaurant taught him about efficiency, customer service, and other valuable lessons that he took with him when building Amazon.

John Steinbeck spent 6 years studying at Stanford, but never earned a degree.

Thomas Cook invented modern tourism in the 19th century by creating package tours and travel guides for aspiring travelers.

Some chefs relinquish their Michelin stars

Five years after Marco Pierre White became the youngest chef to ever achieve a three-star rating, he also became the first chef to “return” his stars and retire. Since then, multiple chefs have followed in his footsteps and requested to be removed from the judging process.

Spanish conquistadors encountered barbecue in the 16th century and called it 'barbacoa.'

The food took root with Black Americans in the Civil War era

Because the technique requires little equipment and can tenderize tough or undesirable cuts of meat like ribs, barbecue took root among impoverished Black Americans in the late 1800s. When these communities moved north during the Great Migration, barbecue followed.

How Martha Stewart became the first self-made billionaire woman

Through her cooking shows, cookware, and media empire, Martha Stewart ascended to billionaire status in 1999, becoming America's first woman to achieve that number on her own. Despite a conviction in 2004 and time spent in prison, Stewart rebounded and continues to develop product lines and media, with an estimated net worth of $200M. Read more about her story here.

The three-star system arrived in 1931

In the 1920s, the Michelin brothers employed anonymous inspectors to review restaurants in their guides. Inspired by other popular European guidebooks, they added the Michelin Star in 1926 to mark the best restaurants in France. In 1931, it was expanded to the current system of up to three stars.

The origin of the term 'molecular gastronomy' and its first international workshop

The 1992 event was born from a conversation between American cooking instructor Elizabeth Cawdry Thomas and Italian physicist Ugo Valdrè, who agreed on the merits of the science of cooking. The International Workshop on Molecular and Physical Gastronomy was named, in part, after the field of molecular biology to lend it prestige and greater seriousness.

President George Washington's adventurous eating habits included having tongue toast for breakfast and cow stomach for dinner.

'Foodie' culture arose in the early 2000s

Food writer Jaya Saxena attributes the mainstreaming of the term to early-aughts TV shows, including “Top Chef” and “No Reservations,” as well as the dawn of social apps like Yelp, which turned everyday diners into critics.

The unexpected return of the steakhouse

Although the 2010s and early 2020s saw fewer people eating red meat, the momentum has now swung in the opposite direction, with vegetarian spots closing and hip new restaurants slinging beef. Food writer Bettina Makalintal makes sense of the sudden shift by unpacking the steakhouse's resurgence.

Jeff Bezos came from humble beginnings and spent much of his childhood on a cattle ranch, where his grandfather made his own needles for the cattle by hand.

One baker is likely responsible for several of New York's earliest pizzerias

Filippo Milone established at least six pizzerias in New York, including one that would later be called Lombardi's, widely considered to be the city's (and the country's) first pizza establishment. Milone died in 1924, leaving no children to tell his story. Researcher Peter Regas unearthed a 1903 advertisement, pictured below, from an Italian-language New York newspaper.

Inside 'Blood Meridian' author Cormac McCarthy's library of 20,000 books

The reclusive writer published 12 novels and taught himself stonemasonry and quantum physics, among myriad other skills and subjects. Since he died in 2023, scholars have been mining his personal library for lessons on his influences, interests, and more.

World War II helped convince food companies to produce more processed foods

Processed foods had existed since the 19th century, but they began infiltrating the mainstream during World War II, with foods designed to last on the battlefield for days. After the war, food companies saw great potential in the relatively cheap foods aimed at busy households. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Pizza didn't take off in the US until after World War II, likely because of technological advancements and soldiers' exposure to it abroad.

What Americans ate after WWII

Returning from World War II, the American cultural landscape saw a vast number of changes. Cuisine, in particular, diversified and modernized thanks to traveled soldiers and wartime innovation. From inventions like powdered cheese to the popularization of instant coffee and Chinese food, explore the changes to the American food industry that continue to influence what we consume today.