The TASTE AWARDS are pleased to announce that Bastianich, Roker and Serrini have all won big this year for new series that celebrates the food and travel world in unique and delicious ways.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 20, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The 2023 TASTE AWARDS brings some surprise celebration to the exciting world of food programming, announcing three big wins for celebrities and newcomers alike. This year awards the prestigious ANDREW ZIMMERN DISCOVERY AWARD, which honors the mission to discover new cultures, new flavors, or new talent, to celebrity chef and long time culinary master LIDIA BASTIANICH. The Emmy award-winning public television host, best‐selling cookbook author, successful restaurateur, and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business accepted the award in person at the gala event held in Beverly Hills the day after the Oscars.

The weather and feature anchor of NBC News' "TODAY," co-host of the"3rd Hour of TODAY" and a bestselling author AL ROKER took home wins for Best Food Program, Best Food Travel Series, and Best New Series for "FAMILY STYLE WITH AL ROKER." Roker accepted the awards in person before flying back to announce the news to the nation the next morning on the Today Show.

The inaugural BOB SAGET AWARD FOR BEST COMEDY AND HUMOR went to food fanatic filmmaker ROBERTO SERRINI for his documentary "DISCO SAUCE: THE TRUE STORY OF PENNE ALLA VODKA." Serrini is a long time food and travel filmmaker, making this his fourth Taste Award to date, previously winning for his films about the coveted cookbook series "ITALY IN BOCCA" and the oldest restaurant in the world "SOBRINO DE BOTIN" in Madrid, Spain. The prestigious award came as a surprise to Serrini who said he was not trying to be funny at all.

"It was a complete surprise to me," confesses Serrini on the red carpet to producer Matt Goldman and showrunner Paul Storck, "since I wasn't trying to make a comedy. I suppose the idea of taking a dish as ridiculous as Penne Alla Vodka and exploring it with the gravitas of a Chef Table episode let the natural comedy come out."

The vision to make food accessible to all viewers and inspire audiences to have their own food adventure without celebrity or even money was the goal of the film, says Serrini, which "winning this prestigious award only validates the point that food is for everyone and should celebrate what it's really good at, bringing people together." Serrini is currently working with UTA to develop the concept into a series and hopes to bring it to a larger audience after its festival run ending with the Tribeca Film Festival later this year.

ABOUT THE TASTE AWARDS:

The TASTE AWARDS are the premier awards celebrating the year's best in Food, Fashion, Health, Travel and Lifestyle programs on Television, in Film, in Streaming & Online Video, in Apps, and in Podcasts and on Radio.The TASTE AWARDS have included appearances by stars, celebrities, producers and executives from networks and platforms such as the Food Network, the Style Network, Bravo, the Cooking Channel, TLC, Discovery, Lifetime, E! Entertainment Television, PBS, Create TV, APT, NBC, ABC, the CW, HGTV, the Travel Channel, HD Net, Hulu, YouTube, Dreamworks, Esquire Network, FYI Network, The History Channel, Bio, iHeart Radio, Sony Pictures, HBO Max, Allen Media Group & Entertainment Studios' Recipe.TV, NETA, Myx TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Tastemade, Cleo TV, the Africa Channel, Roku, and more.

Media Contact

Roberto Serrini, No Frames Productions, 1 9172828042, roberto@no-frames.com

SOURCE TASTE AWARDS