Austin Chef’s ‘Hog Book’ Is a James Beard Book Award 2022 Nominee

The James Beard Media Award 2022 nominations were announced yesterday, and Austin chef Jesse Griffiths is among the nominees in the single subject category for his book The Hog Book: A Chef’s Guide to Hunting, Butchering and Cooking Wild Pigs.

Through the book, Griffiths posits the importance and significance of specifically eating wild hogs, an increasingly growing invasive species in Texas, and clarifies many misconceptions about eating wild game meats in general. His restaurant Dai Due often makes use of wild boar meat, including in recipes for boudin and confit.

Griffiths self-published the tome in August 2021. This is his second book, after the release of his first, Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish, which was published in 2012.

Other nominees in Hog’s category are Washington D.C. author Joe Yonan’s Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes; and Portland authors Joshua McFadden with Martha Holmberg’s Grains for Every Season: Rethinking Our Way with Grains. The media award winners will be announced on Saturday, June 11 in Chicago.

Separately, the 2022 James Beard Awards, which highlight chefs and restaurants across the country, include two Austin chefs: Iliana de la Vega, the chef and co-owner of Oaxacan and Mexican restaurant El Naranjo, who is nominated for best chef: Texas, and Edgar Rico of Nixta Taqueria, who is nominated in the emerging chef category.

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Foundation Awards.