James Beard Foundation

The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The Foundation's mission is to celebrate, nurture, and honor America's diverse culinary heritage through programs that educate and inspire. The programs run the gamut from elegant guest-chef dinners to scholarships for aspiring culinary students, educational conferences, and industry awards. In the spirit of James Beard's legacy, the Foundation not only creates programs that help educate people about American cuisine, but also support and promote the chefs and other industry professionals who are behind it.

The Foundation was started in 1986 by Peter Kump, a former student of James Beard and founder of the Institute of Culinary Education. At Julia Child's suggestion, Kump purchased Beard's New York brownstone at 167 West 12th Street in Greenwich Village and preserved it as a gathering place where the general public and press alike are able to appreciate the talents of established and emerging chefs. The first such dinner was at the suggestion of Wolfgang Puck in 1987. Puck cooked a dinner to raise money and Kump later established it into a monthly event.

Leonard F. Pickell, Jr. was nominated as president of the Foundation in 1995. He later resigned in August 2004, shortly before the results of a three-month audit were to be announced. He was convicted of fraud in late September, having misused hundreds of thousands of dollars for unnecessary and undocumented expenses. As a result of the scandal and his indictment by the Attorney General's Office, the members of the board of the foundation were asked to resign in January 2005.

In January 2006, the reconstituted board, under the direction of interim president Edna Morris, initiated a search for a permanent president of the Foundation. In April that year Susan Ungaro, formerly editor-in-chief of Family Circle magazine, was appointed president. Following the scandal, the foundation also made changes such as creating a salary for the president, CFO, auditors and a larger staff. The Foundation lost about $1 million under Pickell’s leadership as well as hire lawyers and accountants for approximately $750,000. Sponsorships, donations, and event revenues also dropped after the scandal broke prompting the foundation to take out a $2 million mortgage on the Beard home, the only asset.

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