Food journalists judge Taste section nation's best
By Times Staff
Published October 13, 2004
The Taste section and food critic Chris Sherman were honored Saturday in the annual competition of the Association of Food Journalists.
Taste was named best food section in the United States among papers with 150,000 to 350,000 circulation. The Kansas City Star was second, and the Baltimore Sun placed third.
This is the second time in three years that Taste, under the direction of food editor Janet K. Keeler, has won the association's top prize.
The association honored food journalism in newspapers, magazines and online at its annual conference, this year in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Judges were journalists and other food professionals from around the United States. There were 430 entries in 22 categories.
Judges gave Taste high marks for photography, useful information, helpfulness to readers and variety of stories.
Sherman took second place in the column writing competition for a variety of columns on wine. His column, Uncorked, is published every other week on the Cork & Bottle page.
Sherman, 57, has been a restaurant critic and food writer at the St. Petersburg Times since 1989. He is the author of The Buzz on Wine (Lebhar-Friedman Books, 2000).
Judges said that Sherman "writes with authority" and makes "savvy, arcane information clear and accessible with an edgy writing style."
Debbie Moose of the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., won first place in column writing, and Maricele E. Presilla of the Miami Herald was third. Presilla was the only other finalist from a Florida newspaper.
Keeler, 46, joined the Times in 1992 and was named food editor in 2000.
Joining Keeler and Sherman on the Taste staff are designer Paul Alexander, photo editor Patty Yablonski and copy editor Pete Couture. Lifestyles editor Sherry Robinson oversees Taste.
Among the nation's largest daily newspapers, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis won for best section, followed by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune.
