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.”

 

The 11th Taste Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

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The TASTE AWARDS on the TODAY Show with Al Roker

The TASTE AWARDS Committee is pleased to announce that Al Roker received three awards this season for his series “Family Style with Al Roker.” His award wins are for Best Food Program – Online or Streaming, Best Food Travel Series – Online and Streaming, and Best New Series.

In addition, two of his TODAY SHOW co-hosts, Dylan Dreyer (Earth Odyssey with Dylan Dreyer) and Sheinelle Jones (“Wild Child”), also won TASTE AWARDS! Watch the video.

Al Roker

Al Roker to Receive Honors for 3 Award Wins at the TASTE AWARDS

NBC NEWS ANCHORS AND CORRESPONDENTS — Pictured: Al Roker, Weather and Feature Anchor “TODAY” and Co-Host “3rd Hour of TODAY” — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

The TASTE AWARDS Committee is pleased to announce that Al Roker will receive three awards this season. His award wins are for Best Food Program – Online or Streaming, Best Food Travel Series – Online and Streaming, and Best New Series.

Al Roker is the weather and feature anchor of NBC News’ “TODAY,” co-host of the”3rd Hour of TODAY” and a bestselling author. Roker co-hosts Sirius XM’s “Off the Rails” with Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones and hosts “Family Style with Al Roker” on TODAY All Day. Since 1985, Roker has co-hosted the annual Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting. He also co-hosts the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Bowl Parade. Roker is the founder of Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. (ARE), a thriving multimedia company involved in the development and production of network, cable, home video, and public television projects.

Raised in Queens, New York, Roker received his B.A. in Communications from the State University at Oswego in 1976, and he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the school in 1998. He resides in Manhattan with his wife, ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts. Roker has two daughters and one son.

For over a decade, the TASTE AWARDS have been 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.

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, TLC, Discovery, Lifetime, E! Entertainment Television, PBS, Create TV, APT, NETA, NBC, ABC, the CW, HGTV, the Travel Channel, HD Net, Hulu, YouTube, Dreamworks, Esquire Network, FYI Network, The History Channel, Bio, iHeart Radio, Sony Pictures, HBO Max, Entertainment Studios’ Recipe.TV, Myx TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Tastemade, AMC International, the Africa Channel, Roku, Vimeo, Vice, Vox, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and more.

WATCH AN EPISODE OF FAMILY STYLE WITH AL ROKER

Lidia Bastianich to receive the Andrew Zimmern Discovery Awards at the TASTE AWARDS

The TASTE AWARDS are pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the Andrew Zimmern Discovery Award.

THE ANDREW ZIMMERN DISCOVERY AWARD honors the mission to discover new cultures, new flavors, or new talent. The inaugural winners of this new award were Andrew Zimmern and Tyler Florence.

This year’s winner, based on years of contributions to culinary, television, and entrepreneurial talent is celebrity chef, TV host and producer, author, and founder of Eataly, Lidia Bastianich.

TASTE Hall of Fame Inductee Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is an Emmy award-winning public television host, best‐selling cookbook author, successful restaurateur, and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business. Most importantly, she has accomplished all of this by marrying her two passions in life—her family and food—to create multiple culinary endeavors alongside her two children, Joseph and Tanya.

Lidia has published numerous cookbooks, co-authored with her daughter Tanya, and companion books to her Emmy-winning television series Lidia’s Kitchen, Lidia’s Italy in America, and Lidia’s Italy. Her most recent book is Lidia’s A Pot, A Pan, and a Bowl, a companion to her new 26-part public television series, Lidia’s Kitchen. She is also the author of the English and Italian version of her memoir: My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food. Lidia’s cooking shows air nationwide in the U.S. on public television and CREATE, internationally, and on various digital networks including Amazon Prime, Tubitv, and Xumo. Her cooking segments are also part of her TUTTOLIDIA YouTube channel.

Lidia is a celebrated chef and restaurateur and a partner in Eataly NYC, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, Toronto, and Sao Paolo, Brazil. Together with Tanya and son-in-law Corrado, she also developed a line of artisanal pastas and all-natural sauces called LIDIA’S.

Lidia is a member of Les Dames D’Escoffier and founding member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, two non-profit organizations of women leaders in the food and hospitality industries. She is also a champion for the United Nations Association of the United States of America’s Adopt-A-Future program, in support of refugee education.

Among the numerous awards and accolades Lidia has earned are seven James Beard Awards (Outstanding Chef, Television Food Show, Best Chefs in America, Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, Specials 2016, Special 2017 and 2018) and two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Culinary Host (2013 and 2018). In 2022 Lidia received the Silver Award from APT for 25 years on Public Television