TASTE AWARDS Announce Recipient of the Anthony Bourdain Lifetime Achievement Award

The TASTE AWARDS are pleased to announce the winner of this year’s inaugural Anthony Bourdain Lifetime Achievement Award, as well of the The Andrew Zimmern Discovery Award.

The winning recipient of the Anthony Bourdain Lifetime Achievement Award is José Andrés’ WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN, which has done incredible work helping to feed and nourish those in need in conflict zones and natural disasters such as in Puerto Rico, Florida, Gaza, and most recently, during the Los Angeles fires. Having served over 450 million meals, as they describe their services, “Entering our 15th year, World Central Kitchen is still first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. Our meals, from day one, have been culturally appropriate and served with dignity.”

The winning recipient of this year’s Andrew Zimmern Discovery Award is none other than Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef, television host, author, entrepreneur, food champion, and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson. Marcus has done much over the years to bring new foods, new cultures, and new talent to the forefront of his audiences, partners, and clients.

Now in its 16th year, the TASTE AWARDS are the premier awards celebrating the year’s best in Food, Fashion, Health, Travel, and Lifestyle programs in Film, Television, Online & Streaming Video, Podcasts, Radio and Photography.

We congratulate them both!

The TASTE AWARDS have included appearances by stars, celebrities, producers and executives from networks and platforms such as the Food Network, the Style Network, Bravo, the Cooking Channel, Sony Pictures, DreamWorks, TLC, Discovery Communications, Lifetime Network, E! Entertainment Television, PBS, APT, Create TV, NBC, ABC, BBC, the CW, HGTV, the Travel Channel, HD Net, Hulu, YouTube, Vimeo, Vice, LiveWell Network, Esquire Network, Bio/FYI Channel, iHeart Radio, HBO, MyxTV, Small Screen Network, StyleHaul, PTA, Zagat, Mode Media, WatchMojo, Netflix, Amazon Prime, AMC International, Lifetime Network, Buzzed, Vox Media, Gusto TV, MyCleo TV, Recipe.TV, FNL, the Africa Channel, Tastemade, BuzzFeed, Allen Media, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more.

TASTE AWARDS Announce The Anthony Bourdain Lifetime Achievement Award

The TASTE AWARDS Committee is honored to announce the renaming of one of its most prestigious awards to its new name, The Anthony Bourdain Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is named after the late Anthony Bourdain, who was one of the first TASTE AWARDS recipients, and is best known for his cookbooks, memoirs, food and travel television series, and outlook on life.

Says a TASTE AWARDS spokesperson, “Anthony Bourdain was more than a chef or television host; he was a storyteller who opened the world’s eyes to the beauty of culture through food. He was a visionary who redefined the way the people saw food, travel, and culture. Through his groundbreaking shows like No Reservations and Parts Unknown, Anthony brought viewers into the heart of distant lands, not just to taste the food but to understand the stories, struggles, and triumphs of the people who created it. His approach was unfiltered, honest, and deeply empathetic, offering a rare glimpse into the beauty of diversity while challenging stereotypes and prejudices. Bourdain’s unique blend of curiosity, wit, and fearlessness made him an icon, and his legacy continues to inspire people to seek connection through the shared experience of food and the exploration of the unknown.”

 

 

Benny Blanco’s OPEN WIDE: A Cookbook For Friends debuts on major Bestseller Lists

OPEN WIDE, the debut cookbook from artist, record producer, songwriter, and actor Benny Blanco, made its entry onto The New York Times Best Sellers list at #6 in Nonfiction: Advice, How-to and Miscellaneous. Published by Dey Street Books, the cookbook also reached #7 on USA TODAY’s Bestselling Booklist and #9 on the Los Angeles Times bestselling hardcover nonfiction list. OPEN WIDE became available for purchase upon its release.

Co-authored with recipe developer and bestselling cookbook author Jess Damuck, OPEN WIDE serves as Benny’s guide to food and entertaining, offering readers tips on cooking, impressing guests, and throwing unforgettable dinner parties.

While best known for his work in the music industry, Benny Blanco’s passion for food had become widely recognized in recent years. He hosts some of L.A.’s “most coveted” (The New York Times) dinner parties and collaborates with chef Matty Matheson on two cooking shows. Benny also shares viral cooking tutorials alongside well-known food personalities like Half Baked Harvest, Andy Hearnden, Uncle Roger, and Laurent Dagenais.

The cookbook offers something for everyone, from kitchen basics and expert advice from friends such as Eric Andre, Jess Damuck, Ben Sinclair, and Emile Haynie, to Benny’s own mind-blowing recipes designed to leave guests satisfied and entertained.

 

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR benny blanco is a record producer, songwriter, artist, actor, record executive, and cookbook author. benny has contributed to the sale of hundreds of millions of albums worldwide through his work with artists including Ed Sheeran, SZA, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Maroon 5, Juice WRLD, Sia, and many more. As a solo artist, benny has released two albums—FRIENDS KEEP SECRETS and FRIENDS KEEP SECRETS 2—that have been streamed more than 11 billion times to date and have featured multiple multiplatinum hits. benny made his TV debut playing a fictionalized version of himself on the FXX series “Dave” with Lil Dicky, which has become the #1 comedy on FX and FXX. His longtime friendship with acclaimed chef Matty Matheson has spawned two massively viral online food series, “Matty & Benny Eat Out America” and “Stupid F*cking Cooking Show.” OPEN WIDE is his first book.

Watch the TASTE AWARDS 2022 Television Broadcast on Demand

Now in its 13th year, the annual TASTE AWARDS was televised across the United States in 2022. The annual TASTE AWARDS are the premier awards celebrating the year’s best in Food, Fashion, Health, Travel, and Lifestyle programs in Film, Television, Online & Streaming Video, Podcasts, Radio and Photography.

This star-studded television special was broadcast exclusively on select public television stations nationwide, and is also viewable on the PBS Video on Demand app. Celebrity award presenters for this broadcast include Tyler Florence, Joanne Weir, Darley Newman, Chef Jernard Wells, Michelle Harris, Kim Estes, Lorna Maseko, Nikki Dinki, Andrea Feczko, Danielle Nottingham, Kitchen Chat, Chef JJ Johnson, and more.

WATCH THE AWARDS SHOW VIA THE PBS APP

 

TASTE Hall of Fame’s Andrew Zimmern Named U.N. World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador

Hall of Fame Inductee

Andrew Zimmern, TASTE AWARDS winner, Taste Hall of Famer, and awards honoree, plus an Emmy- and four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer, teacher and social justice advocate, has been named a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations World Food Programme, the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

In this role, Andrew will be using his voice and platform to educate the public on food waste and fight to end global hunger. Our team pursued this goal on Andrew’s behalf over the course of a few years, and worked tirelessly to promote this incredible honor by securing top-tier media placements, from segments with GMA3: What You Need To Know, Rachael Ray Show and MSNBC’s The ReidOut, to print/online features with Mashed.com, Mpls. St. Paul Magazine, UN News, and much more.