Philadelphia Magazine Nominated for 2025 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award
The magazine was recognized for its July 2024 story “The Philadelphia Tea Party” by editor Bradford Pearson, which explored Philly’s outsized love affair with Twisted Tea.
Bradford Pearson’s July 2024 story is up for an International Association of Culinary Professionals Award. / Illustration by Hawk Krall
The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) announced the finalists for its highly regarded annual awards yesterday, with Philadelphia magazine earning a nomination in the Narrative Beverage Writing category. Philly Mag editor Bradford Pearson was recognized for his piece “The Philadelphia Tea Party,” an exploration of the city’s outsized love affair with Twisted Tea.
“When I first thought of this story idea, I dismissed it as a little silly,” says Pearson. “But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that not only was it not silly — it was actually important. It’s far from highbrow, sure, but Twisted Tea is such a big part of Philadelphia drinking culture that it deserved to be taken seriously. Well, as seriously as you can take Twisted Tea.”
Pearson’s July 2024 piece documented, for the first time, the roots of the region’s obsession with Twisted Tea, tracing its origins back to a summer of no-shower happy hours in North Wildwood. The tale — though it started in Boston — is uniquely Philadelphian: “We take the little cast-offs and discards, and we make them our own,” Pearson wrote. “Over a century ago, we took last night’s leftover meat and veggies, slapped them into some bread, and — poof — we created the hoagie. Twenty years ago, when no one else wanted it, we welcomed Twisted Tea with open mouths, and now it’s ours.”
Philadelphia magazine contributor Adam Erace has also been nominated in the Culinary Travel Writing Without Recipes category for his story “Pho-Town Philly” published in DoorDash’s Secret Menu magazine.
The IACP Awards are among the most respected honors in the food world, known for their rigorous, peer-driven review process and commitment to celebrating excellence across food media, publishing, and photography. This year’s ceremony will be held in New York City on Wednesday, November 5th, in conjunction with the IACP Summit.
