James Beard Foundation

The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, 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, a former student of James Beard who also founded the Institute of Culinary Education. At Julia Child's suggestion, Kump purchased Beard's New York brownstone townhouse at 167 West 12th Street in Greenwich Village 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 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 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'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 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.

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 in New York to Chicago 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.