The Association of Food Journalists announced the winners of its 2014 Awards Competition at its annual conference in Memphis. The finalists were announced earlier this year. According to the AFJ's website, first place winners in eatch category receive a $300 (USD) cash prize.
First place awards include Sydney Brownstone of Mother Jones and Maryn McKenna of Modern Farmer who tied for for Best Non-Newspaper Food Feature. Alison Cook of the The Houston Chronicle won for Best Restaurant Criticism. Mother Jones' Food for Thought won for Best Food Blog and Emily Kaiser Thelin of the Washington Post won for Best Newspaper Food Feature (above 350,000 circulation) for her story "Paula Wolfert, Coping by Cooking."
Best Newspaper Food Coverage Above 200,000 Circulation went to the Tampa Bay Times and the Best Newspaper Food Coverage 120,000 - 200,000 Circulation went to the San Antonio Express-News. The Best Newspaper Food Coverage, below 120,000 circulation was awarded to The News & Observer. Everybody else pretty much got something, so hooray for everyone. Check out the full list below:
AFJ NAMES WINNERS IN 2014 FOOD JOURNALISM COMPETITIONBest Newspaper Food Coverage, above 200,000 circulation:
1. Tampa Bay Times, Staff
2. The Boston Globe, Sheryl Julian, Food Editor
3. The San Francisco Chronicle, Food and Wine Staff
Best Newspaper Food Coverage, 120,000 - 200,000 circulation:
1. San Antonio Express-News, Karen Haram, Food/Taste Editor
2. The Charlotte Observer, Kathleen Purvis, Food Editor
3. The Kansas City Star, Jill Silva, Food Editor
Best Newspaper Food Coverage, below 120,000 circulation:
1. The News & Observer, Andrea Weigl, Food Writer
2. The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., Cheramie Sonnier, Food Editor
3. Akron Beacon Journal, Lisa Abraham, Food Writer
Best Newspaper Special Food Project:
1. Tampa Bay Times, "Down On the Farm," Laura Reiley, Food Critic, and Lara Cerri, Photographer
2. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Savoring the Great River Road," Anne Schamberg, Wine Writer, and Nancy Stohs, Food Editor
3. The Kansas City Star, "Feast du Jour: Chef-inspired dishes for your Thanksgiving meal," Jill Silva, Food Editor
Best Newspaper Food Feature, above 350,000 circulation:
1. Emily Kaiser Thelin, The Washington Post, "Paula Wolfert, Coping by Cooking"
2. Bonnie Benwick, The Washington Post, "Gnocchi: The secrets to making it, from the pros"
3. Alison Cook, The Houston Chronicle, "Meet the 21st Century Kolache"
Best Newspaper Food Feature, 200,000 - 350,000 circulation:
1. Paolo Lucchesi, The San Francisco Chronicle, "California Finnish: Scandinavian traditions of warmth and light resonate with a Bay Area family"
2. (tie) Michele Henry, Toronto Star, "Eating seal: It's like beef, with a side of controversy"
2. (tie) Nancy Leson, The Seattle Times, "Seattle's bread bakers blend science and art for those perfect loaves"
3. Lynne Char Bennett, The San Francisco Chronicle, "Licorice liftoff: From anise to tarragon, its aromas and flavors infuse food and cocktails the world over"Best Newspaper Food Feature, below 200,000 circulation:
1. Kathleen Purvis, The Charlotte Observer, "Riding With Rock"
2. Cindy Hoedel, The Kansas City Star, "Sowing the Seeds of Self-Reliance"
3. Bob Batz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Trees To Table"
Best Non-Newspaper Food Feature
1. (tie) Sydney Brownstone, Mother Jones, "The Incredible Hypothetical Egg"
1. (tie) Maryn McKenna, ModernFarmer.com, "From Factory Farm to Organic Icon: Inside White Oak Pastures"
2. Carol Guensburg, AmericanFoodRoots.com, "Step right up! Circus food is no sideshow stunt!"
3. Matt Goulding, Roads and Kingdoms, "Daibo Dreamed of Coffee"
Best Restaurant Criticism:
1. Alison Cook, The Houston Chronicle
2. Vanessa Wolf, Maui Now
3. Jill Silva, The Kansas City StarBest Food Visual:
1. Patty Yablonski, Tampa Bay Times, "All Hail Kale"
2. Catherine Downes, Dallas Observer, "From Their Farms to Your Table"
3. Richard Stokes, Reno Gazette-Journal, "Taste of Reno: A Gourmet Guide"
Best Food Essay:
1. Steve Hoffman, Minneapolis Star Tribune, "From the wild: A hunter offers his thoughts on the best meals from the outdoors"
2. Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post, "The food critic is home for dinner"
3. Valerie Phillips, Standard-Examiner, "Good food provides way more than sustenance"
Best Writing on Beer, Wine and/or Spirits:
1. Jason Wilson, TableMatters.com, "Old Europe on the Cheap"
2. M. Carrie Allan, The Washington Post, "Pimping Dad's gin and tonic"
3. Kathy Flanigan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "She's getting crafty"
Best Story on Food Policy or Food Issues:
1. Lisa Sorg, INDY Week, "The Heat is On"
2. Hal Klein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Pittsburgh is at the forefront of an unruly food movement: Permaculture"
3. Ted Genoways, Mother Jones, "Gagged by Big Ag"
Best Food Column:
1. Kathleen Purvis, The Charlotte Observer
2. Nancy Leson, The Seattle Times
3. Joe Yonan, The Washington Post
Best Food Blog:
1. Food for Thought, MotherJones.com
2. AmericanFoodRoots.com
3. Raskin Around, Raskin, PostandCourier.com
Best Food Multimedia Presentation:
1. Plate, "Project: Blackbird," Chandra Ram
2. Tampa Bay Times, "Join Our #CookClub," Janet K. Keeler
3. Creative Loafing, "100 Dishes to Eat in Atlanta," Stephanie Dazey with Edward Adams, Max Blau, James Camp, Rodney Carmichael, Dustin Chambers, Joeff Davis, Clay Duda, Wes Duvall, Brad Kaplan, Debbie Michaud, Thomas Wheatley, Wyatt Williams, Jennifer Zyman
Best Student Writing on Food:
1. Shelby Vittek, Drexel University writing for TableMatters.com, "In a Pinch"
2. Shelby Vittek, Drexel University writing for TableMatters.com, "Here Comes the Sunchoke"
3. Sarah Bracy Penn, Deeper South Magazine and The Greenwood Commonwealth, "From Italy, with Love"
· http://www.afjonline.com/">The Association of Food Journalists [Official Site]
· All Association of Food Journalists Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Awards Coverage on Eater [-E-]