Plus: Podcasters pick their own Best in Show.

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Normally in this space I offer my Pod Pick of the Week. But last weekend, the medium's first major conference (which I attended) also held its first major awards ceremony. I'm guessing that this effort by the podcasters to recognize their own didn't make it onto your radar screen, so instead of my own Pod Pick, I offer you the winner of the first ever "Podcast of the Year."

The winner was selected by "an anonymous committee of podcasters, journalists and opinion leaders." (Hmm, podcasting isn't even two years old, and already we have a star chamber? I'm not sure I like that—and not only because no one invited me to join.)

The committee's criteria for selecting the top dog were as follows:

a) a podcast that stays on-topic and provides unique information to a niche audience not widely available elsewhere

b) a podcast with an informative Web site and (optionally) quality supporting printed collateral

c) a podcast with exceptional listener loyalty

And the Poddy* went to … Eat Feed, which bills itself as "the podcast that takes you back in time, across the country, around the world, and back to your own table." (Click here for the iTunes feed, click here for the Yahoo! Podcasts feed, or click here for the Web site.)

I had never listened to Eat Feed, but post-win I downloaded a few episodes. My reaction: It sounds like a solid public-radio food show.

That's not really a compliment or a criticism. I like a good radio food show. I find discussions of comestibles quite evocative—just hearing the words "tart cranberries" or "pumpkin pie" makes the taste memories barge into my mouth. (The two food radio shows that I've listened to the most also have podcasts: Good Foodfrom KCRW, and The Splendid Table—partial podcast only—from American Public Media.)