The Media Awards element of the 2017 James Beard Awards — the Oscars of the U.S. food world — were awarded last night, in a ceremony separate from the restaurant awarded to be given out next month.
While only two Maine restaurants and breweries made it into the final rounds for this year’s awards (Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor of Eventide Oyster Company and Rob Tod of Allagash Brewing Company, both in Portland), one Maine restaurant did end up with a win in a media category.
Tastemade, a food and travel video website, produced a series of short films with sponsor L.L. Bean about artisans and chefs called Uncharted, and the first series featured Erin French of The Lost Kitchen in the Waldo County town of Freedom. French, who has been nominated for James Beard Awards herself, explains over the course of the ten-minute documentary her background in Maine, her relationship to food, and how The Lost Kitchen came to be. Last night, the film was given the Visual and Technical Excellent Award, and French — alongside filmmaker James Mann — was on hand to accept the award in Chicago last night.
Watch the documentary below!