Long before the head of the James Beard Foundation was caught cooking the books, and long before the Foundation was even created, James Beard was cooking – cooking up a food revolution, that is. In the 1940s & 50s when the nation was reveling in American Jell-O salads, cocktail wiener canapes, and Pepsi-Cola Cakes, James Beard was busy creating local, seasonal American dishes, launching a revolution in food that is now only starting to be realized. Ruth Reichl, editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, food historian Betty Fussell, Alfred A Knopf editor Judith Jones, and NYU food studies professor Marion Nestle join restaurant consultant and author Clark Wolf, in an intimate discussion about Beard’s life and the enormous influences of this remarkable chef.

Long before the head of the James Beard Foundation was caught cooking the books, and long before the Foundation was even created, James Beard was cooking – cooking up a food revolution, that is. In the 1940s & 50s when the nation was reveling in American Jell-O salads, cocktail wiener canapes, and Pepsi-Cola Cakes, James Beard was busy creating local, seasonal American dishes, launching a revolution in food that is now only starting to be realized. Ruth Reichl, editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, food historian Betty Fussell, Alfred A Knopf editor Judith Jones, and NYU food studies professor Marion Nestle join restaurant consultant and author Clark Wolf, in an intimate discussion about Beard’s life and the enormous influences of this remarkable chef.