Jesse Tyler Ferguson Is Hosting The James Beard Awards This May

The James Beard Foundation has announced actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson as the host of the 27th annual James Beard awards, to be held this year in Chicago on May 1. Ferguson is best known for his role as Mitchell in the Emmy award-winning show Modern Family.

The theme of this year's awards is "Powered by Food," which focuses on technology.

Andrew Zimmern — best known as the charming host of Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods — will host the James Beard media awards, which highlights the best of the best in food writing and journalism, at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

"We're delighted to have Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Andrew Zimmern as hosts for this year's awards," said Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation, in a statement. "Just as technology is able to connect people through a shared love of food, Jesse and Andrew have combined their own personal passions for food with their unique talents, whether it be through television, in a blog post, on stage, or on the plate."

Ferguson may be best-known for playing one-half of one of the most popular married couples on TV, but he's also passionate about his food blog, where he posts recipes like gluten-free bacon cheddar scones, and about his Instagram, which features clickable food porn like an image of paleo Thai beef.You can check out the semi-finalists for the Beard awards here.