"iacp" news and stories

• Rising up to battle consumer culture: the radical homemaker.
• A local girl makes good at the International Association of Culinary Professionals awards.
• Summer's bounty is still weeks away, but the Pacific Northwest has plenty of spring greens to look for right now.
• Speaking of spring greens, you can forage for some of them in your backyard. (Dandelions are good eatin'.)
• Biscuits and gravy, please -- hold the pork.

A few of the best links on the Web this week:

• The 2010 IACP Cookbook Award finalists have been announced and, surprisingly, Momofuku is not among them.
• Alain Ducasse talks to the Philippine Daily Inquirer about what makes him great.
• A comprehensive guide to making pizza at home.
• Our favorite figure-skater-turned-TV-chef mans a cheese cart -- this is not a joke.
• Confused about how to slice meat properly? Check out this guide.

An email I received from Jessica's Biscuit pointed out that the nominees for the International Association of Culinary Professions Awards (IACP) and the James Beard Foundation Awards were both announced yesterday. For those unfamiliar, both awards are akin to receiving an Oscar within the food community. Both recognize outstanding cookbooks, journalism and professionals in the food world, and while there is some overlap, the list of nominees for Beard Foundation Awards is far lengthier. Beard nominees for best food-related website include Leite's Culinaria, Epicurious and Dr. Vino's Wine Blog. There are also categories for webcasts, weekly newspaper sections, magazines, and a diverse array of awards chefs and cookbooks. The IACP is presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to Knopf VP and editor Judith Jones (who helped launch Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking) and a Humanitarian Award to Frontera Grill's Rick Bayless. Go check out both sites and see if any of your favorites have made the lists of nominees.

The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) recently announced the finalists for their yearly cookbook awards. Awards will be given for roughly a dozen categories including food reference and technical writing, health, photography and styling, chefs and restaurants and literary food writing. Winners will be announced at the IACP's annual conference, which begins March 30 in Seattle. I was glad to see that Hungry Planet, of of my favorite food books of the last year, made the list. A full list of finalists is available here.