Here Are the 2023 James Beard Media Award Nominees From Portland

This morning, the James Beard Foundation announced its 2023 Media Award nominees. Media awards are divided into three categories: books, broadcast media, and journalism. Two Portland-based writers made the list of journalism award nominees: Portland Monthly food editor and critic Karen Brooks and Eater Portland editor Brooke Jackson-Glidden. Media collective All The Homies Network was recognized as a broadcast media nominee.

Portland Monthly’s Karen Brooks is up for the Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award, which “recognizes discerning criticism that contributes to the larger discourse on cuisine or restaurants.” Her work “Vietnamese Food Goes Rogue at Portland’s Berlu,” “Kann Is Portland Monthly’s Restaurant of the Year: 2022,” and “Michelin-Starred Chef Matthew Lightner Seeds Oregon’s Next Food Revolution at Okta” was recognized in her nomination.

Eater Portland’s very own Brooke Jackson-Glidden was nominated for a Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award, which recognizes work that “engages readers through enterprising food and dining coverage, and whose work displays versatility in form.” Her pieces “When I Feel Unmoored by Life, I Always Find My Way Back to Either/Or,” “At Mira’s East African Cuisine, One Family’s Iftar Traditions Take the Forefront,” and “Why Isn’t There an Overdose Kit Stocked Behind Every Bar in Portland” were recognized.

All The Homies Network launched a YouTube channel documenting the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) Portland food businesses in fall 2022. The collective consists of Kim Dam (Portland Cà Phê), Ethan and Geraldine Leung (Baon Kainan), Lisa Nguyen (HeyDay), Richard and Sophia Le (Matta), and Ian Williams (Deadstock Coffee). The network’s episode Restaurant Takeover ft. Matta, which featured Vietnamese food cart Matta’s pop-up at Multnomah Whiskey Library, was recognized in the reality or competition visual media category.

In the Audio Programming category, the independently produced podcast Copper & Heat — which explores the systemic challenges and social constructs of the restaurant industry — was nominated for their episode “Abalone: The Cost of Consumption.” Host and executive producer Katy Osuna and producer Ricardo Osuna are based in Portland, and this is the second nomination; Copper & Heat won an award in the Podcast category in 2019.

In the Vegetable-Focused Cooking category among the book awards, Hannah Che nabbed a nomination for The Vegan Chinese Kitchen: Recipes and Modern Stories from a Thousand-Year-Old Tradition. Che runs a pop-up in Portland called Surong, in which she incorporates ingredients and tenets of traditional Chinese medicine.

Here’s the full list of 2023 James Beard Award nominees, including media nominees and the previously announced finalists for restaurant and chef awards. Eater garnered six media award nominations in total; Visual Media — Short Form, Beverage, Foodways, Investigative Reporting, and two nominations for the Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Chicago on June 5.

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2023.

Updated Wednesday, April 26, at 3:21 p.m.: This story has been updated to include Copper & Heat.

Updated Thursday, April 27, at 9:19 a.m.: This story has been updated to include Hannah Che.