The national public television series Chefs A’ Field has been nominated for a prestigious 2004 James Beard Foundation Award in the category of “Broadcast Media: Television Cooking Show – National.” The nomination is the second for Chefs A’ Field. The James Beard Foundation Awards are the premier honors for culinary professionals in North America. The Chefs A’Field series is sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, among others.
Chefs A’ Field is currently airing nationally on public television stations and is the first American cooking program filmed In High-Definition Television (HDTV). Chefs A’ Field is produced by Warner Hanson Television and KCTS/Seattle Public Television and is distributed by American Public Television.
Each episode of Chefs A’ Field starts with a well-known restaurant, travels to the field and returns to the kitchen, where the ingredients are magically transformed into some of the most delectable dishes on the menus of America’s finest restaurants. As the chefs interact with local farmers and fishermen, viewers see how environmental practices make a difference in how foods taste and hold their nutritional value.
Top chefs featured in the Chefs A’ Field series include Patrick O’Connell, Frank Stitt, Cory Schreiber, Peter Hoffman, Rick Moonen, Stan Frankenthaler, Odessa Piper, Johnathan Sundstrom, Tom Douglas, Nora Pouillon, Anne Quatrano, and Traci Des Jardins.
The series is currently in production on a second season which is scheduled for release in September (2004). Second season features chefs Suzanne Goin, Jacques Pepin, Sam Hayward, Karen DeMasco, Todd Gray, Holly Smith, Debbie Gold, Michael Smith, Dan Barber, Matt LittleDog, and George Schenk.
The James Beard Foundation Awards recognize cookbook authors, restaurants, chefs, food and beverage journalists, broadcasters, and restaurant and graphic designers. More than 60 awards will be presented. To select the nominees and winners, independent volunteer panels of more than 500 food and beverage professionals from around the country vote on specific award categories. Winners’ identities remain confidential until the awards ceremonies.
Award-winners will be announced at The James Beard Foundation Awards gala, May 10, 2004 in New York City.
Information on The James Beard Foundation, the awards, and lists of nominees, are available at www.jamesbeard.org. Additional information on Chefs A’ Field is available at www.chefsafield.com.
