James Beard Foundation Gala: Women in Food

By JULIETTE ROSSANT After speaking with Lidia Bastianich about the James Beard Foundation Gala honoring Women in Food (see previous article) Super Chef spoke with James Beard Foundation President Susan Unagaro for more background on the event. Super Chef: How did the idea of a Gala honoring women come about? Susan Ungaro: Every year – and this year is our 19th year - we select a theme for the gala reception that takes places after the awards. Chefs from all over the country are invited. We chose to honor women for two reasons. More and more women are working in restaurants. Women dominate the cookbook and journalism awards, and last year we had three women chefs win the chefs awards. We also chose to honor women because the Julia Child movie [Julie & Julia] is coming out. That is the other exciting part. Stanley Tucci is playing Paul Child in the movie [Stanley Tucci is co-host of the awards gala along with Cat Cora and Emeril Lagasse]. Sony Pictures is showing a special trailer about the movie during the cookbook awards. The Gala is a way for us to salute Julia Child's role in food in America. It is a way to honor women in food and cookbooks, female wine makers, mixolgists, and encourage women. The number of women in the industry is increasing. Did you know that 40% of the students at the CIA are female? Super Chef: Is this the first time the gala has honored women? Susan Ungaro: No. The James Beard Foundation celebrated women a dozen years ago. Super Chef: Why is this event important to the James Beard Foundation? Susan Ungaro: Historically, we have the Who's Who in Food and Beverage. This is our 25th year and 70 out of 200 honorees are women. In the James Beard Foundation's 19-year history 270 awards have been given to women across all categories. In 19 years 3 women have won outstanding chefs: Judy Rogers, Lidia Bastianich, and Alice Waters. Super Chef: How long have you been planning the gala? Susan Ungaro: We start planning the awards one month after the prior awards end. Super Chef: Where do you think the Fine Dining restaurant sector is in terms of equal opportunity for women? Susan Ungaro: James Beard was always someone who loved women. He was a big supporter of women and was close to many women including Judith Jones, Marion Cunningham, and Barbara Kafka. He learned his trade from his mother. Super Chef: Lidia Bastianich pointed out that she wished that there didn't have to be a gala to honor women. They are part of the work force, and they should be honored with men. Why is the James Beard Foundation honoring them separately this year? Susan Ungaro: Clearly, this is an industry that should be color blind and gender blind, but practical experience is that women don't get the spotlight they deserve. That is true from the Oscars to the Emmys and most other awards. We just feel that we should honor them from coast to coast - Washington State to Washington DC. Let's shine a light on women who might not get the notice. That is the purpose of gala reception. Let's try to recognize up and coming talent. Super Chef: I have written a few articles urging the James Beard Foundation to include more women in the lists of nominees. This event aside, how else is the James Beard Foundation meeting that challenge? Susan Ungaro: The role of foundation is to recognized excellence. The voting is democratic. We change the format three years ago to online nomination. The number of submissions went up to 15,000 from 9,000. And this year, the outside agency (SMA) distributed a press release with the semi-finalists recognizes a more diverse group of talents, including women and young chefs. Ultimately, 20 semi-finalists per category are whittled down to 5 finalists per category. Our role is not to direct, but to make the awards more wide reaching. In media and cookbooks, women are well represented in both categories. Clearly we are seeing more women in the boardroom and in the business. Next year is 20th anniversary. We will be thinking long and hard about how to manage the celebration. Previous articles: James Beard Foundation Gala: Lidia Bastianich Lidia's Italy and Cucina of La Marche James Beard Foundation Scholarships 2008 2006 James Beard Awards: Note Daniel Boulud James Beard Awards: Dearth of Top Women Chefs James Beard's Len Pickell Gets 1-3 Years Congratulations: James Beard Award Nominees James Beard, Emmys to Honor Julia Child James Beard Foundation's Len Pickell Pleased Guilty Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, James Beard --> back to Super Chef