James Beard Awards 2017 Livestream: How and When to Watch

The 2017 James Beard Awards are happening tonight (check out Eater’s live blog here). The annual awards, often referred to as the Oscars of the food world, are among the highest honors for the American hospitality industry. The James Beard Foundation announced the final list of nominees in March, following their announcement of a longer list of semifinalists in February. This year, Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson will host the ceremony, which recognizes food and beverage professionals in more than two dozen different categories.

The James Beard Foundation also honors the best in food books, journalism, and broadcast media at the Media Awards (previously known as the Book, Broadcast & Journalism Awards) in New York City. That ceremony took place on Tuesday, April 25. Check out the media winners here.

When and where are the restaurant and chef awards taking place?

The James Beard Foundation will name the winners at a black-tie ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This will be the third year the awards gala will take place in Chicago, which beat out San Francisco and New Orleans to win hosting privileges until at least 2021. Festivities kick off at 6 p.m. CST — that’s 7 p.m. EST and 4 p.m. PST.

How can I watch?

For Eater’s in-real-time coverage of the gala festivities, head over to our live blog. Check back at the start of the ceremony for the link.

Watch livestreams of the awards on the James Beard Foundation site or on Facebook when the ceremony begins (once again, that’s 6 p.m. CST). Or you can just watch it here:

You can also follow along on the Beard Foundation’s Twitter feed.

• How To Follow the Beard Awards [JBF]
• All James Beard Awards Coverage [E]