The Golden Globes of Food Is in Turmoil

If the James Beard Foundation Awards are the “Oscars of the food world,” then you could say the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Awards are the Golden Globes. (Unlike the Beards, IACP awards are for cookbooks and media only.) Both have had their scandals. In the 2000s, the JBF’s then-president was sent to prison for embezzling funds, leading judges to resign, donations to evaporate, and the foundation’s future to be called into question. In 2018, the IACP suffered a comparatively small (and funny) embarrassment when its “Cookbook of the Year Award” went to the organization’s then-CEO. It might be happening again: “IACP seems to be melting down,” a writer emailed me earlier this month.