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May 4, 2023

How Oregon Made Food Writer James Beard Legendary

City Cast Portland

How Oregon Made Food Writer James Beard Legendary

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Many Portlanders don’t know that one of the most influential chefs and food writers of the 20th century was born and raised in our city. They might know about the prestigious James Beard food awards, but not much about the man himself…like how this openly gay man living in an age of rampant homophobia started modern food culture as we know it.

Today on City Cast Portland, we’re going to change all of that. In honor of James Beard’s birthday (which is tomorrow, May 5th), host Claudia Meza is talking with his biographer, John Birdsall. John wrote The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard, and he’s here to introduce us to a wild, wild life cultivated and grown right here in Portland, Oregon.


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