Community Corner

Patch Blogger Nominated for James Beard Food Writing Award

Jamaica Plain's Kendra Nordin is up for a major food writing prize.

Jamaica Plain Patch food blogger Kendra Nordin writes more than just recipes; she writes about food humorously, sometimes adventurously, always thoughtfully. From her latest on Irish soda bread, or the recent piece about the she made, or— my personal favorite, the Thanksgiving-related classic, ',' she makes you think about food.

Now, her food writing has been nominated for a major award from the James Beard Foundation. Beard, says wikipedia, was "the central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity."

The nomination is for Nordin's piece in The Christian Science Monitor called 'America's New Culinary Renaissance,' about how and why we have become a nation of foodies.

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Nordin is a staff writer and editor for the Monitor, and manages its aggregated food blog called Stir It Up! Recipes and food musings for the global home cook. Among the blogs she aggregates is her own food blog called Kitchen Report.

JP Patch readers see most of those blog posts right here in Local Voices, often with a JP twist.

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Nordin says she loves writing about food because food is so high-touch (tastes, smells) in a high-tech world (screens and gadgets).


"Food is a problem for everyone every single day," Nordin says. Being single, and having lots of single friends, she had noticed much eating of ramen noodles and frozen foods. She decided she wanted to provide inspiration for people to think (and cook) more creatively about food.

She also loves eating in JP. Her current favorite is , largely for its burger. She is also sweet on Ten Tables and the new pop-up at Fiore's called Whisk. But her standby is Bukhara.

The James Beard award for which she is nominated is for 'Food Coverage in a General-Interest Publication.' The three nominees in Nordin's group are:

  • Lesley Bargar Suter, Los Angeles: 'Chinese Food in L.A.,' 'Breakfast In L.A.,' and 'Food Lovers Guide.'
  • Kendra Nordin, The Christian Science Monitor: 'The Big Stir'
  • Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld, New York: 'Taxonomy: A Falafel in Every Pita,' 'Butternut’s Just the Beginning, and 'The Greatest Thing Since …'

The winner will be announced at a May 4 awards gala at Lincoln Center in New York.

The prize? A medallion.

And bragging rights.






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