Austin Chef Jesse Griffiths’s ‘Hog Book’ Is a James Beard Book Award 2022 Winner

The James Beard Media Awards 2022 were announced on June 11, and Austin chef Jesse Griffith took the main prize in the single subject category for his book The Hog Book: A Chef’s Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Pigs.

In Hog Book, Griffiths gives an in-depth breakdown of all things related to wild hogs, including their culinary importance and status as an invasive species, while also addressing misconceptions about wild game meats. He has long made use of wild boar meat at his restaurant Dai Due.

Griffiths self-published the book in August 2021. This marked the chef’s second book, as his first Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish published in 2012.

The media awards ceremony — which focuses on books and journalism — was held over the weekend in Chicago. The chef- and restaurant-centered awards ceremony — the James Beard Awards — takes place tonight, June 13, in Chicago. Austin nominees are 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.

Dai Due/Facebook

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