With the release of his memoir, Delights & Prejudices: A Memoir with Recipes, food critic and Portland resident James Beard established Oregon as a culinary destination. He established television culinary shows, lectured extensively, and taught at The James Beard Cooking School in Seaside, Oregon and New York City. He highlighted American cuisine to a nation that was only recently becoming conscious of its own culinary heritage, meals made with fresh, wholesome, American ingredients. Beard mentored and taught a number of generations of cooks and food lovers. He wrote more than twenty books, and the annual James Beard Awards presented by his foundation honor his legacy.