Overheard at the 2015 JBF Book, Broadcast & Journalism Awards

The winners of last weekend's 2015 Book, Broadcast & Journalism Awards were as eloquent in their acceptance speeches as they were in their winning bodies of work. We couldn’t help but note some of the most inspiring, hilarious, and quotable lines of the night to share, below. 

“Is that Rick Bayless right there? That’s the coolest thing ever.”

— Keith Schroeder, Focus on Health Book Award winner for Cooking Light Mad Delicious: The Science of Making Healthy Food Taste Amazing​

“Anyone can butcher—which also sounds like the sequel to Ratatouille.”

— Adam Danforth, Reference and Scholarship Book Award winner for Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering

“I hope this book can inspire people to tread more lightly and compost.”

— Amy Chaplin, Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian Book Award winner for At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well

“She edited every line and changed every word. So thank you, the love of my life.”

— Dan Barber, Writing and Literature Book Award winner for The Third Plate, thanking his wife for encouraging him to write and for helping him edit his book

“I want you to know that my husband can totally take Dan Barber’s wife.”

— Tamar Haspel, Food-Related Column Journalism Award winner for her column “Unearthed” in The Washington Post

“She even went head to head with James Beard himself over the merits of kidney fat.”

— Introducing the Cookbook Hall of Fame Award winner Barbara Kafka

“I think I know a few more things about Barbara, about how exciting and interesting she is…but I’m not going to tell you. It’s none of your business.”

— Dr. Ernest Kafka, receiving the Cookbook Hall of Fame Award on behalf of his wife, after a glowing introduction by her editor, Ann Bramson

“I loved that the gringo from Oklahoma was totally into this!”

– Steve Dolinsky, referring to his co-host Rick Bayless, on their Broadcast Media Award–winning podcast, The Feed Podcast

“I’d like to thank Adam Rapoport and the great editors and designers at Bon Appétit, who had the chutzpa to ask an Englishman to tell Americans how to behave at Thanksgiving.”

— Ben Schott, accepting his Humor Journalism Award for “Giving and Thanking” in Bon Appétit

“I want to thank my dad, who is the reason I care about food. He was a great fan of James Beard. I hope I’m doing his love of language and food justice.”

— Molly Wizenberg, accepting her Individual Food Blog Journalism Award for Orangette

“I tell stories not because it’s my job to tell stories. I tell stories because this is how I choose to help people. This is how I choose to believe in people. Life is hard. Everyone needs a cheerleader. If you throw beauty into the world, it will come back.”

— Liza de Guia, Video Webcast, On Location Broadcast Media Award winner for her webcast food.curated

“When I wrote this story I got an email from Taco Bell. Someone from corporate wrote and said, ‘Want a hat?’” 

— John DeVore, accepting his Personal Essay Journalism Award for “Life in Chains: Finding Home at Taco Bell” in Eater

“I’d like to thank Yelp for being such a wonderful source of material.”

— Rebecca Flint Marx, accepting her Food and Culture Journalism Award for her article, “The Toxic, Abusive, Addictive, Supportive, Codependent Relationship Between Chefs and Yelpers” in San Francisco Magazine

See the complete list of winners here.

The 2015 James Beard Awards are made possible by the generous support of Braveheart Black Angus Beef, Celebrity Cruises, Groupon, Lavazza, Valrhona, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, and more. See our complete list of Awards sponsors.