R&K Insider: James Beard publication of the year edition!
We know what we love in a story about food: strange characters, bizarre adventures, politicking, maybe a murder or two.
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Happy Thursday, dear readers! Well, the James Beard Foundation announced their media awards on Tuesday. We were thrilled to learn that Roads & Kingdoms won publication of the year! PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR! I don’t have anything snarky to say about that; we are shocked and honored.
And we’d like to thank you, beloved readers, for supporting R&K day after day, week after week. We know what we love in a story about food: strange characters, bizarre adventures, politicking, maybe a murder or two. But we’re not always sure if others will be as enthusiastic as we are about articles that are light on food porn and heavy on weirdness. You give us the confidence to keep telling the food stories that feel essential to us. So here is a roundup of some of our favorite R&K food writing from the last five years. It’s a privilege to have worked with so many talented writers over the years, and we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed working on it.
Tuesday was a big night for us! We also won the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award for Calvin Godfrey’s fantastic article The Dog Thief Killings. It’s part of our Anthony Bourdain-curated Dispatched series, and there are many other articles in this longform series that are worth spending a lunch break on. And we won in the food and culture department for author Shane Mitchell’s excellent dispatch from a French refugee camp. Much to celebrate!
And rest assured, we celebrated well! There was food and booze and karaoke into the wee hours of the night. So shall we discuss hangovers? If you can be preemptive about it, do. But we don’t always think that far ahead. So perhaps some rice is in order? Maybe some floating fish bits. Maybe the secret is offal. No matter what, umami never hurts. And coffee is, of course, essential.
We were partying with author Yasmin Khan, who will be joining us for the next in our Journalism and Drinks series here in Brooklyn. Do join us for a conversation about her journeys in Iran, the lessons of the dinner table, and eating through the Trump administration. And the always amazing Naomi Duguid won the best international cookbook award for Taste of Persia. We had a nice chat about that one! There is nothing better than celebrating with such amazing people. Speaking of which, are you having dinner with us on Sunday? You should. We can’t wait to see you there!
A few quick mentions: the struggles of writing about Chinese food when you’re a Chinese person. Giant pigs take the fight to ISIS. Is Albania the future of Europe? And what the hell is going on at Whole Foods? Well, I’m exhausted. Let’s relax with an excellent food documentary.
That’s it for this week! I’m out next week, eating my way through lovely Charleston. Follow along on Instagram! See you again the week after for more of the best of politics, travel, and food from around the web. Tweet me stories you want to see @caraparks.