- [Narrator] This program may possible by.

A beachfront oasis for relaxing and ambiance, with culinary experiences and 24 hour services.

An adults only travel destination.

Villa Premiere Boutique Hotel.

Additional support provided by.

(upbeat music) Closed captioning provided by Gowan's Heirloom Cider.

Available in varietals such as Gravenstein, Macintosh, Spiced Apple, and Rose.

Sustainable tree ripened organic apples from our farm to your table.

(bright music) (upbeat music) (audience clapping) - Good evening everyone.

Thank you for coming tonight to the 14th Annual Taste Awards.

(audience clapping and cheering) We are so thrilled to be back here alive and in person and in Beverly Hills, seeing so many beautiful and handsome and talented faces in person.

So give everyone, each other, a round of applause.

(audience clapping and cheering) A lot of work has been put into bringing this event back this year.

And so, with that being said, let's introduce Michelle Harris and Kim Estes.

(audience clapping and cheering) - Thank you, it is so good to be back with you tonight.

Welcome to the 14th Annual Taste Awards.

Yes.

It's been a minute.

(audience clapping) It's been a minute.

- It has been.

- It's been a minute.

- It has been.

- And I'm Michelle Harris, by the way, from the television show, Alive and Well.

- And I'm Kim Estes.

- Who's an Emmy award-winning actor.

- Yes.

Yes.

(audience cheering and clapping) Michelle Harris is a previous Taste Awards winner.

(audience cheering and clapping) - One of the reasons I love the Taste Awards is I host a lifestyle show.

Everyone here loves lifestyle.

The people in this room are the creators and trendsetters that help to uplift people every single day.

So it is so exciting to be back with you, and I think we're going to get things started.

So go ahead and show the reel please.

(audience clapping) - [Presenter] And now this year's Taste Hall of Fame.

These are the inductees.

(triumphant music) - Hi everybody.

This is Ale Gambini, Queen In The Kitchen.

(speaking foreign language) - When I lie in bed late at night and I hear thunder, my God, that's Byron.

This loving husband and father of three makes it his mission- - [Children] Welcome Mr. Allen.

- To mentor and give back.

- We're here to raise money for Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

- Make him feel welcome.

Would you?

Byron Allen.

- Gimme a g. Gimme a u. Gimme a c. Gimme a c. Gucci.

Gucci.

- Dreams do come true.

God bless America.

- Look like bad.

- What's normal?

Do you really want to go back?

- This is a dress rehearsal for climate change.

- Okay, I shortened my life opening this restaurant.

- I'm sorry for your loss.

- Thank you.

- Is this the beginning of something crumbling or is it something that's gonna strengthen?

- I can't sit here and watch the whole industry pull off of a cliff.

(triumphant music) (audience clapping) - Our final inductee is Sips, Suds and Smokes.

- [Audience] Woo.

Yeah.

- Hi.

I'm a good old boy, Mike.

I'm the executive producer of Sip, Suds and Smokes, and I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you so much for this award.

We have really enjoyed doing this show for the last 12 seasons, and I think we're just getting started.

I want to thank all of our hardworking producers that make this show, our 40 plus co-hosts globally that help us record this show.

And thank you again so much for this award.

(audience applauding) - Best Food Program, Best Food Travel Series, and Best New Series.

Mr. Al Roker.

(crowd hollering and clapping) - [Presenter] Best Food Program Online and Streaming.

- The salmon sold at Russ and Daughters is prized for its high fat content.

From the milder Gaspe Nova to the smokier Scottish, and this gourmet fish is all sliced by hand.

When you hold it up, I mean, it's almost translucent.

- Look at that.

Yeah.

I think we should show you how we get it that thin.

- Yeah.

Me and a sharp utensil.

What could possibly go wrong?

(knife scraping) (upbeat music) - I'm Andrew Zimmern and today I'm gonna teach you how to julienne and chiffonade properly.

And we're gonna make these gorgeous shrimp summer rolls and a homemade Nuoc Cham.

- [Presenter] The Best New Series Award.

(uplifting music) - Wow.

When you open that pot, I thought, wait a minute.

- Yeah.

- This is my mother's bees and rice.

The hills are alive with the sights and smells and tastes.

Ah, come on.

It's a food show.

Thank you Michelle and Kim.

I've gotta get a knee replacement, so this is, carrying all this metal is gonna be kind of tough.

First of all, one of the reasons we wanted to come here, I've got my producers Sky McCarthy, Tiara Chiaramonte.

Two of our other producers have run this thing, Missy Dunlop and Michael Galvin couldn't make it.

But our entire Today All Day team, we decided that we were so honored that you gave us these three awards and we were pretty sure none of us would get slapped tonight.

So, I think that's really a plus, isn't it?

This show is a labor of love for all of us.

Family Style with Al Roker.

Food brings us together, binds us together, family people gather around the table.

And so to be able to help showcase some of these great smaller restaurants and food producers all across the country has been a dream come true for all of us.

Generational recipes and all of that.

And just to also be able to do it on Today All Day, which is an extension of the Today brand.

You would think with five hours of the Today Show, there'd be enough, but there's never enough Today.

So, thank you so much.

We appreciate this and we really, really are honored to have gotten this award.

Thank you so much.

(audience clapping and hollering) - And right now we'd like to introduce our next presenter, Stuart Brazell.

- Hi, thanks so much for having me.

I was laughing because the last time we were all here was 2020 and I was pregnant.

Now it's 2023 and I'm pregnant, so if you invite me again, I can't afford anymore kids.

I won't be able to live in LA so.

But I'm so excited to be here.

This is such a special place with incredible people.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

So with that being said.

All right.

Next we have Best of Europe, and congrats to Paris Bistro Cooking with Edward Delling-Williams.

(clapping and hooting) - Welcome.

I'm Edward Delling-Williams, and you are watching Paris Bistro Cooking, where today I've been inspired by the many cheese shops all around Paris.

When I first got to Paris and I started heading out to the markets early in the morning, and I saw the plethora of products that were available, I was totally blown away.

And it's this that kept me in Paris.

(audience applauding) - He flew all the way in from Paris just to be here with us.

(clapping) (laughing) I met this dashing young man in 2018.

I was working on another series in Paris.

It was called a Parisian Food Affair.

I have a love affair with France just like I do with Italy, Lidia, and I met Edward.

He was in one of our shows.

And I'm like, I came back to the studio where we were editing and everyone's like, who's that handsome man on the screen?

And I said, I, I, I love him.

I want to do a show with him.

And go ahead.

This is what happened.

- You see it's what happened.

It was Paris Bistro Cooking, and now I'm here.

I'm like, I'm a man of very few words.

So just like say thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

- Well, you clearly have great taste, so I'm excited to see the chef you find next in Europe.

(laughing) All right, so there we go.

So, next we have Best of Canada and congrats to VegHeadz.

(audience applauding) (upbeat music) - First up, soup.

When my kids were younger and still to this day, every time I make a soup, I have to call it a fun name or they won't eat it.

Broccoli, the soup's gonna be green.

Green Monster Soup.

(audience clapping) - I'm bobbing this for Chris.

I work with Gusto TV.

We are in 162 countries and in three different languages so far.

And the United States of America is our biggest market.

And we love being here.

And we thank you for this.

There's, I should tell you, you know how like college teams have like football teams and different things, and then when they run on the field, they slap something on the ball, I guess.

You know that in Americas?

We have our taste awards hanging up over the studio door.

And when we do our first day of production, everybody slaps the awards and it's a good luck charm for us.

So thank you again.

I will bring this home to my peeps.

(audience clapping) - Final category.

We have Best Reality Series, and that is going to Gordon Ramsey: Uncharted.

- [Presenter] Best Reality Series.

(upbeat music) - Pretty surreal, this for me, Gordon, I've gotta admit.

Cooking alongside you when 20 years ago I was cooking for you.

- Are you getting romantic?

- I'm actually getting a bit emotional.

- Come on.

- No, no, no, no.

Leave me alone.

Leave me alone.

- Up against one of my former employees.

He's at the forefront of this Cornish wave breed of chefs.

I had to up my... (audience applauding) - Much like Edward, this is terrifying.

And I'm gonna have about these many words.

Thank you on behalf of the entire Uncharted family.

Most of our teams actually just shipped out a day ago to go film another round and we're all excited.

It's the, all of us call it our passion project.

No matter what we do in between series, in between seasons, it's our baby.

And thank you.

It's nice to know that other people love it as much as we do.

So I appreciate it.

(audience clapping) - That's good for me, but let's keep this Taste Awards party going.

Please welcome Margaret McSweeney.

- Hello everyone.

I'm Margaret McSweeney, founder of Kitchen Chat.

It was such an honor to be inducted into the Taste Awards Hall of Fame the last time we were all here together.

Well, let's first present the Best Drink or Beverage Program Award, V Is For Vino.

(audience applauding) - [Presenter] Best drink or Beverage Program.

- I'm ready to drink wine with everyone, everywhere, all the time.

If there's one thing I've learned over the past years, it's never to take for granted our ability to wander free.

So I'm ready to go.

Are you?

(upbeat music) (audience applauding) Thank you guys very much.

Thank you, Taste of Awards, for this amazing honor.

And I'll be brief, but I have to thank a few people.

One of my crew members, who's been with me since the beginning, came to here with me tonight.

Thank you for staying in cheap hotels and working 18 hour days when we started this show, so that we could turn it into something special.

My parents for giving me this weird combination of overwhelming confidence and overwhelming work ethic that took us from a show that has almost no production budget compared to some of the larger shows to make something that's been seen by a whole lot of fans.

It's, it's really special.

My amazing wife, who is not only a support system for the show, but she helped me turn into the man I am today.

I met her as a freshman in college and she, she shaped me from an awkward kid to what you're looking at, one who can put on the tux.

And finally, the last thing I'll say is I hope it's true for everybody in this room.

I am so grateful every day to be able to wake up and work on something I love.

That's a rare thing.

And so I hope you guys enjoy doing what you do as much as I enjoy producing this show.

Thank you so much.

(audience clapping and hooting) - Next award is Breakout Foodie of the Year, Chef Dynasty: House of Fang.

(upbeat music) - Little fried rice, rice baby.

(laughing) - [All] Yes.

- So my dad and I actually created this fried rice that we cook table side on this very hot skillet.

People take videos of it.

They've shared with friends.

Share on TikTok.

This fried rice became viral.

It had over a million views and now we call it the TikTok Rice.

(audience applauding) - I just have to preference that TikTok Fried Rice.

My dad doesn't even know what TikTok is, but I'm the younger generation.

And if you've seen the show, a lot of it is about, like, the old school versus new school.

And I'm just trying to push forward the legacy that my family has created.

That's the TikTok Fried Rice.

But I grew up in my father's restaurant.

When he opened the place, I was seven years old.

I didn't think I was going to do food industry because I thought it was the hardest thing ever.

I fell in love with it.

And I never in my wildest dreams, ever thought that our life was interesting enough to become a reality series on Food Network.

I am so thankful and grateful, on behalf of my family, to have this opportunity to share our story.

And this is a very special moment for me.

I wish I could have convinced my dad to come down, but he's actually working because he works seven days a week.

He's the hardest person, hardest working person ever.

He is my greatest idol and I don't think I could ever have this opportunity to stand here if it wasn't for him.

And thank you to the Taste Awards for giving us this recognition.

This is on behalf of our family and thank you to Food Network, the production company, everybody who believed in our story to make this happen.

And thank you to all of you guys.

This is very special to us.

(audience clapping) - The next award is Breakout Foodies of the Year, The Key Ingredient.

- [Sheri] Oh, that's a beautiful one.

- It's a gorgeous oyster.

It's a gorgeous oyster, nice and fresh.

Just pulled it out of the water.

I'm gonna cut this abductor muscle for you.

- Okay.

- And there you go.

- All right.

I don't want anything on this.

I don't want this to be.

Good Lord.

That's salty.

- It's very salty.

- That is amazing.

(audience applauding) - Thank you so much.

We're so grateful to the Taste Awards for recognizing our show, The Key Ingredient with Sheri Castle.

Sheri Castle is right behind me.

She is an amazing chef, at home cook, and her expertise charms our audience every day.

I just want to just say a grateful thanks to this team up here.

Don Bittinger, (indistinct), Miriam McSpadden, our director of photography, and of course our host and producer, Sheri Castle.

We did this show under the cloud of Covid and we had a goal not to make this look like a pandemic show.

And we were all very thoughtful, and I'm sure some of you are in the same boat of that.

We were all very thoughtful to be careful with each other and very safe.

And I'm so proud of the production quality that we were able to achieve.

And I'm so grateful to the Taste Awards for recognizing that and I'm so proud of this team and I'm gonna let them speak now.

We love telling the stories of food and we're so grateful to be here from PBS North Carolina tonight.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you all so much.

You know, I didn't expect TV in this life and I've been given this great gift and I can't explain it, but I can tell you that every day I wake up believing that the next story we will tell might be the story people want to hear most.

Thank you.

(audience clapping) - Just thank you for having us out.

Thank you for believing in the power of story and especially about the power of story through food.

It's unique and it's a special way to experience the world.

So thanks to all of you and all the storytelling that you do.

And thank you to the Taste Awards for having us out here.

(audience clapping) - I don't have much to say.

Thank you guys.

Thank you guys for having us out and giving us this award.

Last season was great.

Working on this season right now.

We won an Emmy for this show, so I really look forward to what season two might bring for us.

So thank you.

(audience clapping) - So this next award is very special, the Andrew Zimmern Discovery Award.

And I'd just like to say a little something about Lidia Bastianich.

She is first of all a fellow member of Les Dames D'Escoffier.

And you have truly done so much for this industry, for women in this industry as well.

Will all of the Les Dames D'Escoffier members who are here, please stand up as we honor and as the Taste Awards honors Lidia Bastianich.

(audience hollering and applauding) - [Presenter] The Andrew Zimmer Award.

- I have some bread here.

There's kind of a slang that's pucciare.

Pucciare means to dunk.

With a sauce like that, you need some good bread and you dunk.

And I have a little tree that I guard and I give lots of love.

I pull it in the house every winter and I continue to clip the leaves and use them because I love bay leaf flavor and aromas in my cooking.

- [Presenter] The Andrew Zimmern Award.

(audience hollering and clapping) - Thank you Margaret, very much.

Please, please sit down, relax.

You know, I'm not used to standing ovations, but I appreciate your, you know, I came to the United States as an immigrant at 12 years old and I love cooking.

I cook with grandma and I opened, my husband and I as a family, my first restaurant in 1971.

As a young chef, I love to cook, but I love to cook the food that made me comfortable, that brought my story to the table.

I love to cook what I remember from grandma.

And I guess the audience really understood and appreciated.

It was nine tables, my first restaurant.

I cooked like mad.

I loved it.

I would come out with slippers in the dining room and then besides whatever they ordered, I would bring little tastings and said, you gotta taste this.

You know, the bolognese, the risotto, because in 1971, those things were not cooked in the Italian restaurants in America.

So, you know, I brought that.

And it is now 50 years I've been running restaurants.

It's been 25 years that I've been on public television.

It's, and I love it.

I love the act of cooking.

I mostly love nurturing, feeding people, you know, because food transcends all other interactions.

Food communicates.

No matter what ethnicity, what's your level.

When you sit at the table and you share food, you are on equal grounds and I love that.

I didn't plan to have television show, to have books, somehow happened to me.

Maybe because of my passion, because of my dedication.

The first, the opportunity that I got, yes, I would get called on shows, you know, cook this, cook that.

But the first opportunities that I got with Julia Child, she came to visit my restaurant, 1981, Felidia, that I opened, and she wanted to know who is this Italian woman chef in the kitchen making all this noise.

So she came in with Julia Child and James Beard.

Imagine these two, two towering figures.

And I was looking through that, you know, the glass window that we have in the kitchen doors.

And I saw them coming, but you know what?

Maybe I didn't know the magnitude of these two people or I didn't realize it at the time.

I went out and I spoke and, you know, she wanted the risotto, mushroom risotto, I remembered.

And she even eventually wanted me to teach her.

So, she came to the house, we became friends, and ultimately she invited me on her show.

We did two episodes together and, of course, the producer says, "You know, Lidia, you're pretty good.

How about a show on your own?"

She encouraged me and so on I went.

And I went on the show.

Well, when the producer said okay, I said, I will do a show, but I'll do it in my kitchen because I didn't know studios, but I knew my kitchen, I knew where everything was and they agreed.

And I did my show from my kitchen for quite a while.

My mother, who's now passed, and some of you that watched the show know her, lived with me.

And as she got older then I kind of, you know, all those cables and all of that, I had to move out.

We went to a studio.

But I love being in my kitchen.

And of course the books followed and what I really found out, a great connection with the viewers out there.

For me, it's important that, you know, whether it's in my restaurant and I make them taste the extra things that I love, whether it's on the screen and I leave a message with them, I leave a technique, they take it with them and make it their own.

I am part of them and I love that.

And I get all of these emails all the time and I just respond to them, respond to them, almost all of them.

And I'm very appreciative, so Marvin, thank you very much.

Taste Awards, thank you very much.

All the judges.

And I really wanna congratulate all the nominees, all the winners because our industry is not easy.

It's tough, but it gives you a lot of rewards.

So stay with it.

Keep on going.

Evermore, you know, my years, I told you 71 is 50 years now, so I still feel full of energy and I really thank and appreciate.

It's an honor being here and receiving this award.

Thank you.

(crowd clapping and hollering) - We're gonna continue the awards this evening.

The next presenters, Bita and Beata.

- Hello, I'm Bita.

- Hi, I'm Beata, too.

- We're from the Modern Persian Food Podcast.

We are so honored to be invited to be one of the presenters tonight amongst the talented and inspirational people amongst us.

Just a quick, maybe quick blurb about who we are and what our podcast is.

We have the same name.

- Yes.

- and the same passion.

- And it means unique, one of a kind.

- Yeah.

So Persian, Iranian, a lot going on in that part of the world.

And we can't be up here without saying that we support the women and men in Iran.

Women like, zan zendegi azadi.

We just wish from the bottoms of our hearts that they can have the opportunities and the freedoms that we have.

And that one day, we can be in their homeland there and, you know, do some amazing things with these recipes and ancient rich cultural traditions that we have.

We have a common denominator and that's food.

We all enjoy the food.

We might have a different religion.

We might have a different political view.

We might have, you know, different ideas, but we can all agree that Persian food is freaking delicious.

- So, thank you for having us here tonight.

Bita, would you like to go ahead?

- Well please play the reel.

(audience applauding) - [Presenter] Best Fashion Film.

- There's a great history with Hollywood and this dialogue that started to get created and collaborations with the great European designers.

I think some of it came from the actual stars themselves, who obviously had started to be more worldly.

In France, had a great artisanal history of making clothing.

(audience clapping) - Hi everyone, I'm Susan Beza from Turner Classic Movies and on behalf of my colleagues at TCM, I wanna thank the Taste Awards for this recognition.

And I just wanna say for me, my night just got twice as fun.

(audience laughing and applauding) - Great.

The Best Non-English Language Program, Series, or Film and the winner is 10 Icons: Michoacan.

(audience clapping) (upbeat music) - (speaking foreign language) (audience applauding) - Well first of all, we wanna thank the Taste Awards.

Second of all, I wanna say thank Alejandro.

We are both Alejandro's, so Alejandro and Alejandro, right?

But yeah, I wanna thank him because without his original idea of celebrating food from Mexico, especially from Michoacan, that it's a heritage cultural from us, was a big dream.

We also make our production on pandemic.

So it's, you know guys, that it was really a big challenge.

So for us it's really important to be here right now with you and showing what Mexican food means for us.

What the traditions from families it is for us, like getting the tradition from our grandmas, our moms.

And we celebrate family in Mexico around the kitchen.

So it's really important for us to show you and to show to the world this tradition.

Thank you guys.

Thank you for this honor.

And this is for all the Mexican people around the world.

Viva la Mexico.

(speaking foreign language) (crowd clapping) - Thank you.

Thank you, Taste Awards.

Thank you.

We are so grateful and honored to bring the Mexican food, the heritage, and especial from Michoacan, our home.

And thank you.

And remember, (speaking foreign language) Muchas gracias, Taste Awards.

(crowd hollering and clapping) - All right, next award is the Taste Photography Award goes to Michelle Ullmann.

(audience applauding) - Thank you.

Thank you to the Taste Awards.

I had to take notes because I fumble when it's live and it's really embarrassing.

And my six year old, who knows I'm here, and my eight year old and my 10 year old, who I homeschool, are my biggest fans and supporters.

I've been on this wonderful journey of growth, pushing myself to whatever the next step is in my career.

And right now, tonight, that next step is right here with all you beautiful people, who have been so kind in the reception area and everybody is just wonderful and welcoming and you all look fabulous, by the way.

Everyone looks fabulous, especially sparkly dresses.

I think I'm coming here to everyone wearing a sparkly dress.

It wasn't just the hard work though.

It was my amazing support network that I have.

My husband, who is the one that pushes me the most in the most annoying way.

He's like, why?

Keep going.

What are you doing?

Stop doubting yourself.

And that there's so much behind that.

There's so much power behind someone who says, keep going, don't stop.

I love it so much.

(crowd clapping) Every time I don't believe in myself, he does.

My children, who are cheering me on.

My mother, who faithfully watches every single thing I put out.

I could be picking my nose and my mom would be like, yeah, go.

It's amazing.

Shirley Baker of Lion's Rest Productions is probably my biggest cheerleader who has the most positive things to say.

If you fall flat on your face, she's like, Hey, you did that with style.

Celebrate it.

It's amazing.

And last but not least, Robert Jacob, who is here with me tonight, I've known him since college.

He has been with me through thick and thin.

He stood with me as my man of honor.

Not my maid of honor, my man of honor at my wedding and is just over here always supporting me.

And I thank him for that.

And I also thank his girlfriend for loaning him to me tonight in place of my husband.

I continue to learn and develop and improve through everything I do.

And I encourage every single one of you to do the same thing.

Whatever it is, whatever goal you have, just go for it.

What is the next step?

Do it.

Don't give up.

Thank you.

And have a delicious day.

(audience applauding and yelling) - Okay.

Next up we have Best International Program and the award goes to Great Getaways: Namibia, Africa with Zahirah Marty.

(audience applauding) - [Presenter] Best International Program.

(upbeat music) - What a dream.

Taking a horseback ride through the desert and having a picnic at sunset here in Namibia, Africa.

Amazing.

I can't believe I'm about to make this treacherous trek up to the top of Big Daddy, the highest dune in Africa.

Let's go.

(audience clapping) - Hi everyone.

Huge thanks Lisa Renee for dragging me out of the desert and putting me on exciting destinations.

When you travel, you can't get away from me.

So to my crew, Buddy and Shane at the back, sorry for all the long hours, but it was worth it.

They're so incredible.

And yeah, just keep traveling guys.

The world is your oyster.

There's incredible places to see.

Yeah, so thanks Lisa Renee and my crew.

Obviously my two boys, the big one and the small one.

That's my husband and my son for letting me leave them at home.

But yeah, it's great to be here.

South African in Dubai, standing with you in LA accepting this.

So thank you very much.

(audience hooting and clapping) - So the first award, Best Fashion Design or Home Decor Program.

Carol Alt's Living Room.

(audience applauding) (upbeat music) - But my mother is Sri Lankan and she was actually a Miss World contestant back in the late sixties.

- And that's where you get your looks from, huh?

- My mother.

Yeah.

Very luckily, I guess.

But it was certainly, it was that competition that I think helped my mother move from Sri Lanka to the UK.

(audience clapping) - So.

Really, I want to thank the Tasty Award show.

You know, the producers, the creators of this because it's truly amazing and awesome that they created this platform 14 years ago and they continue doing that.

(everyone applauding) We are all creators here, so thank all of you really, because without all of you, we wouldn't be here, right?

I mean, we support each other.

We watch each other.

Our fans, our viewers make us who we are, in a way.

And we bring our truths, whether it's through food, fashion, lifestyle, to the audiences out there.

Very, very important.

Thank you.

So my name is Rocco Leo Gaglioti.

I'm first generation American.

I'm American Italian.

I didn't come from anything.

I, of course, I'm Italian.

That means I love food, right?

(audience hollers) We show love with food.

That's just the way it is.

The stories about the restaurant.

I was like, (speaking foreign language) I said I'm going to eat all day, all day.

My wife says, no, no, don't eat so much.

Anyway, so thank you so much to the Tasty Awards, Thank all of you so much and thanks to Tasty Awards.

(audience applauding) - Next award, Best Travel Program.

El Camino De Santiago by Julius.

(crowd clapping) - [Presenter] Best Travel Program.

(upbeat music) - Julius.

(speaking foreign language) - [Presenter] Best Chef in a Series.

(upbeat music) (speaking foreign language) (audience applauding) - So first of all, let me tell you, hola from Spain.

We have come from quite far.

Long travel, but we are really, really happy to be here.

(audience members clapping) So this TV, so you know, in Spain we love food too.

And (laughing) this TV so begin because, you know, El Camino Santiago, many people come to Spain to work to Santiago because they thought that perhaps you can get to heaven, eh, through the food.

But, (laughing) so I would like to dedicate this award to all the amazing q that perhaps now they are sleeping, you know, but eh, tomorrow they will be really happy to have this medal.

So thank you very much to all the team of this program and, of course, to Julius Bienert that he cannot be here.

But he will be very happy to have this.

(audience applauding) Thank you very much.

- The next award is Best Producer.

Recipe.tv.

(laughing) (audience clapping and laughing) - I feel so bad.

Okay, I have to, I have to tell you this.

Just I wanna thank God first and I wanna thank Byron Allen for allowing.

I have the best job, the best boss that I've, I could have ever had.

I've worked in this industry for about 30 some years and I've won Emmy Awards, but I got this Taste award for Best Producer and I cried the other day.

Yes, I love the Taste awards.

I love Paris and I produced this show with Edward.

Where are you?

Paris Bistro Cooking and there you are.

And it was real passion for us to do that.

And look, and I'm crying now 'cause I got a Producer Award and I'm so grateful.

Thank you.

(audience applauding) I wanna produce something with you, Lidia Bastianich.

I just wanted to say that.

You saw that I'm the best producer.

I wanna do something with you.

(everyone laughing and clapping) - Good evening everybody.

My name is Marcel Vigneron.

I just wanna say that it's an honor and a pleasure to actually be here presenting this evening.

I think I'll start off with a couple couple quotes, just to get things going.

One by Cesar Chavez actually.

Cesar Chavez, he said that the people who give their food, give you their heart, right?

And as a chef, I think there's something to be said, you know, that you're basically a nurturer by nature, you know?

And I think Lidia touched on that earlier and just by all the people in this room, I feel like you can really feel the love, you know, and I've also met, you know, so many interesting people this evening as well, which leads me to one of my other favorite quotes by Julia Child, which is that the most interesting people are the ones that love food, right?

So I feel like, you know, you can tell that everybody loves food in here and I've met some very interesting people.

So, without further ado, why don't we roll the tape.

(audience applauding) (upbeat music) - So Adam's here and he's gonna tell us which tortilla press we should include in our kitchens.

- Let's see if I can impress you with the tortilla presses.

- Lovin' it.

- We're going to a desert island and you get to take one mustard with you for the rest of your life.

- The rest of my life.

(audience clapping) (upbeat music) - I gotta start with the veg.

- All right, I'll start with the meat then.

- Okay.

Oh.

- Wow, it's so soft.

- I want this to simmer guys, so that's a little bit strong.

So now I can go to about medium.

All right?

Welcome to Simply Ming At Home with my son, Henry Tsai.

(audience applauding) (upbeat music) - So in order to get it evenly stretched out, pick up the ends and tap it and pull it while you pull out a little bit.

There.

- That's pretty cool.

- Isn't it?

- Okay.

Why does that work?

- It's the momentum.

But you know, with the center swinging up and down, it's stretching as it goes up and down.

- [Presenter] Best Food Program on Television.

(audience clapping) (upbeat music) - Hello everybody, thank you so much for this award.

On behalf of my partner, David Smith, and everybody who works so hard on Taste the Nation, we're honored, we're glad that the show's being recognized and we have a new season coming, so we hope you love that too.

Thank you very, very much.

(audience applauding) - All right.

The Taste Award for Best Feature Length Film or Documentary goes to Love, Charlie: the Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter.

(audience applauding and hollering) - [Presenter] Best Feature Length Film or Documentary.

- I'm Charlie Trotter from Charlie Trotter's Restaurant in Chicago.

- You can just use this mic.

- Oh no, no because I wanted to say something that I don't want recorded.

My philosophy has always been, if it weren't for employees and if it went for the customers, the restaurant business would be the greatest business in the world.

And basically I hate people, but you can't put that out there, right?

- No, we will.

- All right.

Thank you.

(audience clapping) - Thank you so much to the Taste Awards for this wonderful honor.

This is huge for our team.

It took years to make this movie, literally with many obstacles, but it was worthwhile as all things are, are that big of a struggle.

25 years ago, Chef Charlie Trotter was the best chef in the world by Wine Spectator.

And about, well at that year, actually, I'll just tell you quickly, he gave me the biggest compliment of my life and he took a swig of my olive oil and it changed my life because every other chef in the world was willing to try Lucini.

And so, when I realized five years ago that his legacy might be lost because people didn't know who he was, we decided to try to make this documentary.

And Della, thank you so much.

Della Gossett's here from Spago.

She was his first pastry chef.

She was early on a supporter.

And Lisa Ehrlich, his first wife, is also in the audience.

Lisa gave us all the early stories that, we would not have a movie without you, Lisa.

Thank you.

(crowd clapping) And I also, Rebecca is here, our director.

She really made this dream come true because she was innovative and creative and inspiring, just like Charlie would want this film to be.

And I'm so grateful for you, Rebecca.

Thank you.

And finally, just our EPs.

We have to thank Ray Harris, who believed in us from the beginning, and Margie Geddes, who got us to the end of the finish line here.

Really, thank you guys.

Charlie would be proud.

Do you wanna say one more thing?

- One thing.

- Yes.

- You know, you can't make a fine dining establishment happen without the love of your customers.

And Ray Harris ate at Charlie Trotter's 424 times.

- Wow.

- That's three hours a meal totaling 52 days of his life, if you do the math.

So, thank you to Ray and to everyone who knows Charlie and who now knows Charlie.

(audience applauding) (indistinct) - Okay, for our next Taste Awards, it's for the Best Lifestyle Podcast and that goes to Salt and Spine.

(audience clapping) - Thanks.

Thanks so much.

I'm Brian Hogan Stewart, I'm the host and creator of Salt and Spine.

We are a scrappy little cookbook podcast that rose to the top of Apple podcasts and became the top food podcast for a while and the top cookbook podcast for the past five years.

You saw from our scrappy little slideshow, that we've had some incredible guests.

So, thank you to the Taste Awards.

This is such an honor.

Thank you to the guests.

We've had over 200 guests now.

Cookbook authors who've shared their life stories, their creative inspirations, and their work with us.

All of our listeners, thousands of listeners all over the country and the world who support us and our love for cookbooks.

Our producers, Alison Sullivan and Clea Wurster and Madeline Forbes, our recording partner in The Civic Kitchen.

And my wife.

I left a career in politics to pursue my passion for hospitality and sharing stories with the world.

And she's pushed me and supported me every single day.

So, thank you Taste Awards.

(audience applauding) - So, the newest award actually will be The Bob Saget Award for Best Comedy or Humor.

And that Taste Award goes to Disco Sauce: The Untold Story of Penne Alla Vodka.

(audience hooting, cheering, and clapping) - [Presenter] Best Comedy or Humor.

(upbeat music) - I know that the recipe calls for fresh tomatoes, but San Marzano tomatoes are special.

They're grown on the side of a volcanic mountain and they're just packed with lava, basically.

And they're canned at the height of their freshness.

So they're going to be better than most things that you're gonna find at your grocer.

Sorry, that's just the reality about San Marzano tomatoes.

(audience applauding) - So cool.

I would, I'm a kid from Queens.

Who would've guess that'd be in Beverly Hills receiving a giant gold medal for a film about pasta?

But I'm very honored to receive the Bob Saget Award for Best Comedy and Humor for our little film, Disco Sauce: The True Story of Penne Alla Vodka.

I think Bob would like this film.

He liked spicy foods.

I grew up with him, so he's special on my heart and this is very special to me.

I met all my greatest admirers and then the people I grew up with that taught me about food.

Lidia, you blow my mind.

I mean, the fact that you're here and I'm looking at you talking is like.

So, I've been to a restaurant many times and I think we're all here because we love food, you know?

And our film was really there to inspire people to have their own food adventure and prove that you didn't need to be famous or have celebrity, or even money, to celebrate what food is really good for, which is bringing people together.

And I've always gone to your restaurant, as I've been to many fine restaurants, because I love to meet the people that love food.

So, I want to thank my mother, who always showed love through food.

My beautiful wife, Jacqueline, my partner crime, Peter Boggia, my Picture Farm Production family, and everyone at UTA who has inspired us to develop this into a series.

So keep your ears and your mouths open 'cause there's lots of delicious things to come.

Thank you so much.

- And our next award is for Best Food Travel Series Television.

And the winner is Gordon Ramsey: Uncharted.

(audience wooing and clapping) and Roadfood: Discovering America One Dish at a Time.

(audience clapping) - [Presenter] Best Food Travel Program.

(upbeat music) - She is not happy.

- They don't kick like a normal cow.

So.

- They don't?

- No, they don't kick backwards.

- They don't.

They kick sideways.

Oh wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Hold up.

I've got a tablespoon of milk here.

Fortuna.

For (beeping) sake.

Fortuna.

- [Misha] Is that all deep fried?

- [Interviewee] That's all deep fried.

- [Misha] And it looks like it may be breaded, not breaded.

- [Interviewee] Not breaded.

- [Misha] But like dusted in something.

- It's like brined in their marinade, which is why you have that color.

Traditionally it's served with platanos fritos, which is green fried plantains.

- Oh yeah.

So this is basically a health food place.

- 1000%.

- Got it.

- You're not gonna come here after a workout, you're gonna come here when you're not working out the whole week.

(audience hollering and clapping) - It's me again, the one that doesn't know what to say.

But we're all grateful from Uncharted.

I'm grateful that I get to do what I do and we're all grateful that we get to sit in a room with people that are passionate and we're one of the lucky few, so.

In a bunch of weird times when there's a lot to be questioning, at least we could sit in a room where we don't question what we love, what we do.

Thank you.

- Best Short Film or a Documentary, The Soul of Sicily.

(audience cheering and clapping) - [Presenter] Best Short Film or Documentary.

- The food we eat connects us to a vast web, from farmers to producers, involved in getting food from farm to fork.

We probably don't pause to think about it while eating an apple or cheese, but this global food system is central to some of the biggest challenges facing humanity.

(audience applauding) - First of all, I wanna thank the Taste Award Committee and I also wanna thank the farmers and the producers that gave me the opportunity to tell their story.

(audience clapping) Thanks.

It's a very important story.

We're talking today about food and the connection of food to our land.

And it's so important, especially in this very uncertain world.

We all need to know what the source of our food is.

I also wanna thank my crew, both in Sicily and also in Little Rock, Arkansas.

And my special sweet love here who always supports me in all of my dreams and my adventures.

Very important.

The Sicilians are in the house.

I wanna thank.

I wanna thank my cousins, all of my cousins back there, my Uncle Tony and Aunt Betty, and especially to my daughters, Jennifer and Amy, and also Jennifer's husband, Eric.

Thank you for coming and supporting me.

(audience applauding) Wow, here I am.

I'm a farmer.

I'm a chef in Little Rock and a first time filmmaker and I'm turning it to the right side.

First time filmmaker winning this Taste Award and it feels so incredible.

So thank you again for that.

And in the future you can see me later on this year, I'm publishing a travel series in Sicily, so I'm gonna tell more stories about these amazing people, the Soul of Sicily, and you'll be able to find out how to make cheese, how to make bread, how to do all those wonderful things that we Italians and all of us love to do.

So I hope you look forward to that series as well.

And I'm also coming for you Bobby Flay.

I'm gonna take you on as well.

So from Sicily, from my family, and thank you again, Taste Awards, for this great honor.

(audience hooting and clapping) - Okay.

And our last award is Best Host and this is All in the Industry.

(clapping) - Hi everyone, I'm Shari Bayer.

I am the host and producer of All in the Industry, which is on Heritage Radio Network.

And I'm super honored and grateful to the Taste Awards for this win.

I started my podcast in 2014 as a passion project and I've been at it since.

I've done 350 episodes to date.

And my industry, in case you don't know, is the hospitality industry.

It's all behind the scenes in hospitality.

Yes, I said it.

So, I'm super excited.

Thank you so much and congratulations to everyone else and thank you.

(audience applauding) - So we'd like to congratulate all of our winners and nominees this evening.

(clapping) - And I know that Kim and I, we've been so thrilled and excited to be with you for a few years at this point.

- Exactly.

- But even more grateful to be back with you in person and we're just so happy to be with you this evening and thanks for being with us tonight, and we'll see you next year.

- And we'll see you next year.

(audience hooting and applauding) - [Narrator] This program made possible by.

A beachfront oasis for relaxing and ambiance with culinary experiences and 24 hour services.

An adults only travel destination.

Villa Premiere Boutique Hotel.

Additional support provided by.

Closed captioning provided by Gowan's Heirloom Cider.

Available in varietals such as Gravenstein, McIntosh, Spiced Apple, and Rose.

Sustainable tree ripened organic apples from our farm to your table.

(upbeat funky music) (upbeat funky music continues)