Screen-to-Table Awards to be presented

Just in time for the Oscars, the inaugural Screen-to-Table Awards will be presented on Thursday, Feb. 19 to celebrate the delicious ways food was depicted in the most popular films of 2014.

Food and film enthusiasts can tune in live to the saucy awards ceremony produced by BakeSpace.com and part of the weekly KitchenParty culinary talk show series Hangout on Google+.

The special awards episode will stream live at 7 p.m. Central on Google+ and YouTube. Links to each site where it will be streamed can be accessed at http://screentotable.com.

Over the past year, food has played a starring role in films such as "Chef" and "The Hundred-Foot Journey," as well as a supporting role adding narrative flavor to Oscar contenders including "The Imitation Game," "Boyhood" and "The Theory of Everything." The many ways food was used in the films of 2014 helped spawn amusing Screen-to-Table award categories such as:

• "Most Dysfunctional Family Dinner"
• "Most Delectable Comfort Food"
• "Most Obsessive-Compulsive Plating/Food Presentation"
• "Most Mouthwatering Cuisine"
• "Most Uninhibited Table Manners"

The awards will be presented by KitchenParty co-hosts Babette Pepaj (founder, BakeSpace.com) and Rene Lynch (writer/editor, Los Angeles Times). Babette and Rene will be joined by guest commentators Brett Erlich(pop culture contributor, ABC News/host, YouTube's "Pop Trigger") and Lee Farber (writer/co-executive producer, E!'s "The Soup"). 

"Even films without an obvious food tie-in are often filled with wonderful culinary moments," said Pepaj. "From father and son sharing s'mores in 'Boyhood' to arch rivals setting aside differences to savor the perfect omelet in 'The Hundred-Foot Journey,' such scenes enrich storylines and inspire home cooks to explore new cuisines."

To mark the awards, BakeSpace is also releasing the "First Annual Screen-to-Table Cookbook" (app and ebook) filled with recipes inspired by the award winners. Sample recipes include "Coming-of-Age S'mores" (from "Boyhood"), "Black Hole Coffee" (from "The Theory of Everything") and "Walk a Thousand Miles Oatmeal" (from "Wild").   

The new cookbook will be available for free download starting Thursday (Feb. 19) as an ebook on BakeSpace.com (http://bit.ly/screen2tablecookbook) and as an iPad app via the Apple App Store (download BakeSpace's free Cookbook Café app http://bit.ly/cookbookcafe and search "Screen-to-Table").

Over the years, movies have depicted food in all sorts of ways. Sometimes it's the foundation of the story, as in "Julie & Julia" (2009) and last year's "Chef" and "The Hundred-Foot Journey." In such films, recipes come to life as food is itself a central character. In other films, food plays a scrumptious supporting role helping add zest to the storyline. It's difficult to forget the kitchen scenes in "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas," Jack Nicolson's side order of toast in "Five Easy Pieces," and the challenge of scoring the perfect little burger in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle." An expansive list of memorable food-inspired films is posted on IMDB athttp://www.imdb.com/list/ls057674149/.

About the Author