The James Beard Foundation, a world-renowned not-for-profit organization based in New York City, held their annual awards gala earlier this week and named their choices for the best of the best in the culinary world. Since there are simply far too many recipients to list them all here, I've just chosen a few from select categories, but you can view the list in it's entirety at their website.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Barbara Kafka

BOOK AWARDS CATEGORIES:

Cookbook of the Year:
THE LEE BROS. SOUTHERN COOKBOOK by Matt Lee and Ted Lee

Baking:
FROM MY HOME TO YOURS by Dorie Greenspan

Asian:
CRADLE OF FLAVOR by James Oseland

Cookbook Hall of Fame:
MOOSEWOOD COOKBOOK by Mollie Katzen

Wine & Spirits:
ROMANCING THE VINE by Alan Tardi

Read on after the jump to find out the winners in the Chef and Restaurant categories.

CHEF AND RESTAURANT CATEGORIES:

OUTSTANDING CHEF:
Michel Richard of Michel Richard Citronelle in Washington, DC beat the likes of Tom Colicchio of Craft, Lee Hefter of Spago, Jean Joho of Everest, and Paul Kahan of Blackbird to win the honor of being named Outstanding Chef.

BEST CHEF: GREAT LAKES
Grant Achatz, Alinea, Chicago, IL

BEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC
R.J. Cooper, III, Vidalia, Washington, DC
Frank Ruta, Palena, Washington, DC

BEST CHEF: MID-WEST
Celina Tio, The American Restaurant, Kansas City, MO

BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY
David Waltuck, Chanterelle, New York, NY

BEST CHEF: NORTHEAST
Frank McClelland, L'Espalier, Boston, MA

BEST CHEF: NORTHWEST
John Sundstrom, Lark, Seattle, WA

BEST CHEF: PACIFIC
Traci Des Jardins, Jardinière, San Francisco, CA

BEST CHEF: SOUTH
Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans, LA

BEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST
Scott Peacock, Watershed, Decatur, GA

BEST CHEF: SOUTHWEST
Nobuo Fukuda, Sea Saw, Scottsdale, AZ

BEST NEW RESTAURANT
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Chef/Owner: Joël Robuchon, New York, NY

OUTSTANDING PASTRY CHEF
Michael Laiskonis, Le Bernardin, New York, NY

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT
Frontera Grill, Chef/Owner: Rick and Deann Bayless, Chicago, IL

OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR
Thomas Keller, The French Laundry, Yountville, CA

OUTSTANDING SERVICE
Rick Tramonto, Gale Gand, and Richard Melman: Tru, Chicago, IL

OUTSTANDING WINE AND SPIRITS PROFESSIONAL
Paul Draper, Ridge Vineyards, Cupertino, CA

OUTSTANDING WINE SERVICE
Mark Slater, Michel Richard Citronelle, Washington, DC

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR
David Chang, Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York, NY

(thanks, snekse!)