Contact Information: Trinity Thomas, admin@soulfoodscholar.com
Release Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
For Immediate Release
Adrian Miller Earns 2026 James Beard Media Award Nomination for Feature Reporting
Denver, CO – May 6, 2026: Today, Adrian Miller, a Denver-based food writer, was nominated for a 2026 James Beard Foundation Media Award in Feature Reporting for his October 2025 Southern Living magazine article, “The Unwritten Chapters of Charleston Receipts.”
Miller’s article, published in October 2025, examines the legacy of Charleston Receipts, the famed Charleston, South Carolina community cookbook that was first published in 1950. Miller’s reporting explores the cookbook’s cultural significance while also investigating the overlooked contributions of Black cooks and Gullah Geechee culinary traditions that helped shape Charleston’s celebrated food culture.
“I’m deeply honored by this nomination,” said Miller. “This story became an opportunity to explore not only a beloved Southern cookbook, but also the broader questions of memory, recognition, and whose stories get preserved within American food history.”
Miller previously won James Beard honors for his books Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time and Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, and this is his first nomination in a journalism category .
Miller’s article examines the legacy of Charleston Receipts, the famed Charleston community cookbook first released in 1950. Miller’s reporting explores the cookbook’s cultural significance while also investigating the overlooked contributions of Black cooks and Gullah Geechee culinary traditions that helped shape Charleston’s celebrated food culture.
Miller also expressed gratitude to Southern Living’s Editor-in-Chief Sid Evans and its former Food Director Lisa Cericola for their editorial guidance, support, and enthusiasm for sharing this story.
The Feature Reporting category recognizes excellence in engaging writing and in-depth reporting focused on food and beverage topics. Other nominees this year include Lenore Adkins of The Washington Post and Boyce Upholt of Food & Environment Reporting Network and Inc. Magazine.
The 2026 James Beard Awards will be presented in Chicago on June 13, 2026. For more information please visit www.jamesbeard.org/awards.