From the best stories and recipes to photography and illustration, each year we recognize the incredible work of Edible Communities’ network of 80+ hyper-local publications in the U.S. and Canada. Hundreds of entries were submitted by publishers, representing the best content that appeared in their magazines in 2021.
Here we present the winners and finalists in each category, chosen by accomplished, award-winning writers in the food space: Barry Estabrook, Dianne Jacob and Keia Mastrianni.
We hope that you enjoy each and every story as much as we do.
Best Magazine Cover
Edible Bozeman: Fall 2021 Issue Cover, photo by Chloe Nostrant
On a moody night on the Yellowstone River, Jodi Stevens checks on her Dutch oven apple cobbler.
Best Magazine Cover Finalists:
Edible East Bay, Summer 2021 Cover
Edible Western NY, Fall 2021 Cover
Best Feature Story
Edible Jersey: Heart + Soil by Jill Waldbieser
At Free Haven Farms in Camden County, New Jersey, Micaiah and Cynthia Hall grow sustainability and social justice.
“If you can’t show people success, you can’t get people to sign up for it. We know that our work is bigger than us.”
Best Feature Story Finalists:
Edible Sarasota, Sun Shrimp
Edible San Luis Obispo, Chinatown for a New Generation
Best Feature Photography
Edible Monterey Bay: Accessing Another Level, photos by Glen McDowell and Joe Platko
Fin + Forage aims to change perceptions of spearfishing and takes an intrepid reporter on a freediving adventure in Big Sur.
“The social media reputation of spearfishing is big fish or bikinis and booty. We wanted to combat that.”
Best Feature Photography Finalists:
Edible Jersey, Heart + Soil
Edible Bozeman, The Trials and Triumphs of Heritage Apples
Best Profile Story
Edible Bozeman: Zen and the Art of Pain Au Chocolat with Mark Sinclair by Scott F. Parker
“As I’m watching him work, I have to wonder if it can possibly be as easy as he makes it look. He doesn’t hurry. Every movement is controlled, precise, efficient. He’s a man at ease in his work, taking pleasure in his movements the way Steph Curry and Roger Federer did in their primes.“
Best Profile Story Finalists:
Edible Delmarva, Chester River Seafood
Edible Sarasota, Captain Planet
Best Profile Photography
Edible Hudson Valley: The Color Forager, photos by Randazzo | Blau
How Annie Cadden utilizes nature in her fibers.
“Cadden will use anything—including mushrooms, sumac, goldenrod, nettles, and walnuts—to create her colors. In any case, she likes to dye as soon as she has harvested her ingredients.“
Best Profile Photography Finalists:
Edible Northeast Florida, Raising Cane
Edible San Luis Obispo, Waste Not Want Not
Best Personal Essay
Edible Alaska: Emergency by Richard Chiappone
“I’d eat while she fluttered around the kitchen, a shrine to overeating, my Nani the high priestess at the Formica altar. In this religion the greatest sin was to be without food to offer an unexpected visitor. Her motto was, ‘Always keep a canned ham in the house. You know, in case of an emergency!’ She was not talking about floods or hurricanes.“
Best Personal Essay Finalists:
Edible Maine, Sowing Seeds, Growing Flowers, Finding Joy in Rural Maine
Edible Tampa Bay, Farm Life and Fresh Starts
Best Recipe Feature
Edible New Mexico: Cooking with Chiles, from Cuicatlán to Chimayó by Willy Carleton
Endangered chiles, endemic flavors and making mole in New Mexico.
“’Each chile has its own story of where they come from, and how they are prepared,’ Miguel Villalpando of Nomada Goods in Santa Fe told me one afternoon not too long ago. ‘And I fell in love with that.’”
Read this story and try the recipes
Best Recipe Feature Finalists:
Edible East Bay, Sharing a Harvest of Joy
Edible Boston, Short But Sweet: Shortcakes All Summer Long
Best Recipe Photography
Edible Monterey Bay: Radicchio, photos by Patrick Tregenza
Bitter and beautiful, learn how to use these stunning vegetables.
“These odd-shaped aliens in all colors and sizes were various kinds of radicchios and chicories…My favorite was a gorgeous light pink color I had never seen in a vegetable before.“
Ready this story and try the recipes
Best Recipe Photography Finalists:
Edible Delmarva, Fresh Catch
Edible Reno-Tahoe, Southern Comfort: Tips and Tricks for Preparing Classic Dishes from the South at Home
Best Illustration
Edible East Bay: At the Chez Panisse Sunday Market, illustrations by Cathy Raingarden
On the eve of its 50th anniversary, the East Bay’s top destination restaurant discovers its parking lot community.
“’Of all the things we do, the Sunday market is the most fulfilling. You can interact with people. There’s something about the market that feels like it was a nice little glue for the community.’”
Best Illustration Finalists:
Edible San Francisco, Should We All Be Vegan?
Edible Manhattan, Gastronomia: Namaste Chicken
Best Digital Program
Edible East Bay: Olive Oil Heaven, A Guide to California’s New Harvest
In the same way that tomatoes, asparagus, and persimmons have their special seasons, olive oil does, too. At the start of the fall harvest in many of the world’s traditional olive oil–producing regions, growers and makers create special “olio nuovo” and “new harvest” oils with exceptionally vivid flavors to share both at table and for harvest celebrations. With California now rising as a significant world olive oil producer, our local makers are emulating the ancient traditions to entice an increasingly eager public.
Best Digital Program Finalist:
Edible Hudson Valley: MADE
Meet Our Judges
Barry Estabrook, Author
The winner of numerous awards from the James-Beard-Award foundation, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and the Association of Food Journalists, Estabrook is the author of Just Eat: One Reporter’s Quest for a Weight-Loss Regimen that Works, which Ruth Reichl declared, “essential reading;” Pig Tales: An Omnivore’s Quest for Sustainable Meat, which Alice Waters described as “a beautiful and clear-eyed examination of the world of pigs and pig farming;” and of the New York Times best-selling Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit (described as “masterful” by Mark Bittman in the New York Times) and which won the Migrant Justice Award for 2015. He was a contributing editor at Gourmet magazine until its closure. His work has also appeared in the New York Times “Dining” section and the New York Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Readers’ Digest, Cooking Light, Smithsonian, Eating Well, Men’s Health, Saveur, Gastronomica, TheAtlantic.com and many other national magazines. He has been anthologized several times in The Best American Food Writing anthologies. He lives in rural Vermont. His website is www.politicsoftheplate.com.
Dianne Jacob, Author
Dianne Jacob is a full-time writing coach, author and teacher, specializing in food writing. Previously she has worked as a newspaper, magazine and publishing company editor-in-chief. She coaches writers around the world on writing and publishing books, freelance articles, and blogs.
Dianne is also the author of the international and national award-winning book, Will Write for Food: Pursue Your Passion and Bring Home the Dough Writing Recipes, Cookbooks, Blogs and More (Hachette Go) and the co-author of two cookbooks with Chef Craig Priebe. Their second cookbook, The United States of Pizza (Rizzoli, 2015), earned recommendations from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and NPR as one of the best cookbooks of the year.
Dianne has served as a judge for the James Beard Foundation (JBF), the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) annual cookbook awards, the IACP Food Writing Awards, and Edible Communities’ Best of Edible annual awards. Her work has appeared in Lucky Peach, The Washington Post, the Best Food Writing 2016 anthology and more. Her blog is a resource for food writers and bloggers alike, covering trends, issues and techniques. Read more about Dianne’s work here.
Keia Mastrianni, Writer and Baker
Keia Mastrianni is a writer and the baker behind Milk Glass Pie, a small farm-based bakery in Western North Carolina.
Her writing has appeared in Eater, Southern Living Magazine, TASTE, Bon Appetit, and more. She currently lives and works with her farmer husband on their farm, and pens Pleasant Living, a newsletter documenting their life together in a rural place.
A selection of Keia’s writing can be found on her website: keiaishungry.com.
