Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email: [email protected]
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 14, 2012 – Darra Goldstein, Francis Christopher Oakley Third Century Professor of Russian at Williams College, has been awarded the 2012 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for Publication of the Year for the quarterly journal on food and culture, Gastronomica, of which she is the founding editor and editor-in-chief. The journal shared the prize with Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs’s Food 52.
The James Beard Foundation recognizes culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields. Beard was considered the dean of American cooking at the time of his death in 1985. A ceremony on May 4 honored Goldstein and other media award winners.
Gastronomica is published by the University of California Press, but from the first it has been produced at Williams. The awards committee cited the journal for “proving that food can be the catalyst for meaningful and serious discussions about culture, history, literature, art, and politics. Founding Editor Darra Goldstein has turned her enthusiasm for food into a substantive and intelligent publication that influences us all. In addition to editing Gastronomica, Darra is a Professor of Russian at Williams College. She is a quintessential example of the diverse and unexpected personalities you’ll find talking about food at Gastronomica, where poets, artists, professors, opinion makers, and pundits bring a stimulating breadth of perspectives to the table. In our digital age of fleet tweets, trendy headlines, and the battle to grab readers’ attention in an increasingly crowded space, Gastronomica reminds us that curiosity, hard thought, and great writing are award-worthy values.”
Gastronomica was named Best Food Magazine in the World at the 2011 Gourmand Awards in Paris. The journal also received the 2007 Utne Independent Press Award for Social/Cultural Coverage and the Prix d’Or at the Gourmet Voice World Media Festival in 2004.
Goldstein is the author of four cookbooks: A Taste of Russia, The Georgian Feast (winner of the 1993 IACP Julia Child Award for Cookbook of the Year), The Winter Vegetarian and Baking Boot Camp at the CIA. At Williams since 1983, Goldstein also has published numerous books and articles on Russian literature, art, and cuisine. She is currently food editor of Russian Life magazine and general editor of the book series California Studies in Food and Culture at University of California Press.
Goldstein received her B.A. from Vassar College in 1973 and her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1983.
END
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college’s 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students’ educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student’s financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu Williams College can also be found on Facebook: www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: twitter.com/williamscollege
Published May 14, 2012
Megamenu Social