Julia Child, who founded the James Beard Society in honor of the man known as the father of American gastronomy, was not present for the awards. But her popularity is still obvious. Clips of some of the early, unedited Julia Child shows probably helped. He was not present, but his granddaughter, Stephanie, said that if he could have come, he would have given a lot of credit to the pre-Prohibition pamphlets on how to make wine that the brothers found in the Modesto public library. James Beard awards, considered some of the premier awards in the industry, start with a call for entries in the fall.
Restaurants can and sometimes do nominate themselves.
By December usually there are about 2,000 nominees. In January, a committee meets for two days, after talking with panelists in all parts of the country, and pares down the list to a maximum of 20 candidates in each category. This list goes out for votes by regional panelists and former winners. They vote, and the five candidates who get the most votes in each category go onto the final ballot. From this list of nominees, the same panel of judges selects one winner in each category.