The James Beard Foundation on Thursday announced it will not be announcing 2020 chef and restaurant winners due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on the industry.
The recipients of the annual awards for outstanding achievement in 23 categories — often referred to as “the Oscars of the culinary world” — were scheduled to be announced via Twitter in a live virtual ceremony from Chicago on Sept. 25.
Instead, the 2020 ceremony will now celebrate previously announced honorees in the categories of America’s Classics, Lifetime Achievement, Humanitarian of the Year, Design Icon, and Leadership Awards.
This year’s list of Chicago finalists included a “clean sweep” in the category of best chef Great Lakes region, with Gene Kato of Momotaro, Jason Hammel of Lula Cafe, Noah Sandoval of Oriole, John Shields and Karen Urie Shields of Smyth, Erick Williams of Virtue, and Lee Wolen of Boka restaurants vying for the prestigious honor.
In addition, Spiaggia, the legendary flagship restaurant of James Beard Award-winning chef Tony Mantuano, was nominated in the category of outstanding wine program, while the Logan Square tiki cocktail emporium Lost Lake was nominated for best bar program.
Some of the other categories in the annual nationwide competition include outstanding chef, outstanding restaurant, outstanding restaurateur, and best new restaurant.
“The uncertainty of this time for our industry is already a hard reality and considering anyone to have won or lost within the current tumultuous hospitality ecosystem does not in fact feel like the right thing to do. In short, an honor which we know is held in high regard, at the moment, feels minor when compared to the dire situation we are in,” said James Beard Foundation CEO Clare Reichenbach, via statement.
The foundation also announced it taking this time to conduct a yearlong initiative, described as “a comprehensive internal and external review to address any bias and align the awards with the foundation’s mission of promoting sustainability, equity, and diversity in the restaurant industry.” This will include a re-examination of the awards process, “to ensure a more fair and equitable process and to better reflect the industry which we serve.”
“We hope to focus our collective energy on helping our community get through this crisis and on addressing the inequities in the industry going forward,” Reichenbach said.
Next year’s awards have also been canceled, with the foundation noting it would be “unfair and misguided, taking into account the unprecedented hardships which restaurants and potential nominees faced this year.” The 2021 ceremony will instead celebrate “the independent restaurant community who have shown leadership during this crisis and honoring those who have made a significant impact on the industry and in their communities.”
The industry has been devastated due to mandated shut-downs and restrictions on dining room service due to the COVID-10 pandemic. According to one report, nearly 73,000 restaurants across the country have closed permanently since the start of the pandemic.
To date, dozens of Chicago restaurants, including Bottled Blonde, Fat Rice, Francesca’s on Taylor and Bar Biscay, are permanently shuttered because of the financial crisis brought on by the pandemic, and statewide nearly 350,000 restaurant workers have been laid off or furloughed.
Updates about the September event and other Foundation news will be available at jamesbeard.org/awards.
