Jeremy Umansky Credit: Photo by Barney Taxel

On Wednesday, the James Beard Foundation announced the nominees for its Media Awards, which includes Book, Broadcast Media and Journalism. Chef Jeremy Umansky of Larder was on the list. His book, “Koji Alchemy: Rediscovering the Magic of Mold-Based Fermentation,” co-authored with Rich Shih, is up for an award in the Reference, History, and Scholarship category.

“Rich and I are over the moon with joy,” Umansky announced. “Completely flabbergasted! This is definitely not something that I foresaw.”

In 2019, Umansky, along with partners Allie La Valle-Umansky and Kenny Scott, earned a semi-finalist spot in the Best New Restaurant category for Larder.

The winners will be announced at the Media Awards ceremony in Chicago on the campus of Columbia College on Saturday, June 11.

This article appears in Apr 20 – May 3, 2022.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.