Free Press dining critic Lyndsay Green earns another James Beard Award nomination
Detroit Free Press restaurant and dining critic Lyndsay C. Green is in the running for another highly coveted James Beard Media Award.
The award nominees, announced Wednesday, were revealed ahead of the James Beard Foundation's annual Media Awards ceremonies taking place June 14 in Chicago.
Green is nominated for her 2024 series on urban farming, titled 'As Detroit sees a future in urban agriculture, some pushback harkens to a dark past.'
"Being in this James Beard conversation for the past three years now feels like a true blessing," Green said. "I still consider myself a new food writer, so this recognition is a real honor. Being a nominee in two different categories at this point also shows a range of food writing. I'm so grateful that I'm able to explore food in so many ways at the Free Press."
In 2024, Green was nominated for the prestigious Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award, named after the late Los Angeles Times restaurant critic, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2018. The award last year ultimately went to Mike Jordan of Atlanta Magazine.
Green's reporting explored the progress and potential of farming efforts in Detroit as a pioneering city for urban agriculture. She said the project allowed her to dig into tensions between generations of Detroiters.
'As the city leaned into more urban farming initiatives, I noticed that many of those Great Migration-era Detroiters and the generation that followed them were pushing back,' she said.
She explored the forces behind those tensions in the thought-provoking package while painting a picture of the city's overall agricultural landscape.
Others nominated in the same category are Robert Kunzig of the Food & Environment Reporting Network and Switchyard for 'Transforming the Delta: Climate change is creating opportunities to turn America's poorest region into a fruit- and vegetable-growing hub;' and Eater's Nylah Iqbal Muhammad for 'Grief, Solidarity, and Molokhia.'
In 2023, Green was the recipient of a James Beard Journalism Award for Emerging Voice. It was the same year that the Free Press' documentary film "Coldwater Kitchen," took home a James Beard Foundation media award for best documentary. That same year, Green was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for criticism.
More: Pulitzer Prize panel at Michigan Central Station explores importance of criticism in news
Local freelance writer Mickey Lyons, was also nominated this year in the foundation's Media Award Beverage category. This award recognizes "distinctive style, thorough knowledge, plainspoken prose, and innovative approach in a single article on alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages," according to the foundation.
Lyons piece 'Detroit's Third-Shift Bars Were a Lifeline. Now They're a Dying Breed' for Punch earned him the nomination.
'Congratulations to our 2025 Media Award nominees, whose exceptional storytelling deserves celebration,' said Beard Foundation CEO Clare Reichenbach in a news release. 'Through their work, they inspire us to reflect on the profound ways food touches and shapes our lives, society and culture.'
A James Beard Award is considered one of the most prestigious honors in the culinary industry.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Free Press dining critic Lyndsay Green nominated for James Beard Award
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