Beards name ChopChop top food publication of 2013

[May 04, 2013]  (AP) -- No trendy restaurants. No fancy equipment. No hard-to-find hipster ingredients.

The pages of this year's top food publication don't read like your average gourmet glossy. That's because the only trend ChopChop magazine -- named publication of the year by the James Beard Foundation on Friday -- cares about is how to get America's children eating healthier.

Billed as the "fun cooking magazine for families," ChopChop was launched in 2010 by cookbook author Sally Sampson to give parents and kids the tools to fight childhood obesity. Though the magazine is available by subscription, one of its primary methods of distribution is by pediatricians giving copies to their patients.

The foundation's awards honor those who follow in the footsteps of Beard, considered the dean of American cooking when he died in 1985. The ceremony was held in New York, where the Beard Foundation is based. Friday's ceremony honored winners in media and publishing; a separate ceremony on Monday will be held for chefs and restaurants.

Earlier this year, tough talking television chef Anthony Bourdain made news for his jump to CNN. But on Friday, he was honored for his work on public television. His "The Mind of a Chef" was named best on-location television program. Meanwhile, Andrew Zimmern of Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods America" was named outstanding host.

The cookbook of the year honor went to Maricel E. Presilla's massive ode to the food of Latin America, "Gran Cocina Latina." The 912-page book covers a tremendous swath of cuisines and cultures, explaining the common threads that run through the region's many foodways.

Prolific cookbook author Anne Willan was named to the foundation's Cookbook Hall of Fame. Willan has written extensively on the foods of France, including the cookbook "The Country Cooking of France," which won two Beard awards in 2008. In 1975, she founded the Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne cooking school in Paris.

In the blogging world, the group food blog award went to DarkRye.com, the edgy web magazine of grocer Whole Foods Market. The site focuses on the blending of food, health, sustainability, design, tech and social enterprise. The individual blogger award went to Hank Shaw's "Hunter. Angler. Gardener. Cook." The site follows Shaw's effort to hunt, gather and cook much of his own food.

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Online:

DarkRye: http://www.darkrye.com/

Hunter. Angler. Gardener. Cook.:
http://honest-food.net/

[Associated Press; By J.M. HIRSCH]

J.M. Hirsch is the food editor for The Associated Press. He tweets at http://twitter.com/JM_Hirsch.

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