Guild of Food Writers Awards Winners

Last at the Design Museum, London, the Guild of Food Writers announced the winners of their much- coveted annual Awards. Colin Spencer presented the beautiful engraved trophies to some of the industry’s finest writers and broadcasters. Amongst the 12 winners there were some familiar names and some new ones to add to the roll of honour. Nigel Slater, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Tom Parker Bowles were all recognised as leaders in their field. Hugh’s triple nominations (for the Michael Smith Award for Work on British Food for River Cottage: Winter’s On The Way, the New Media of the Year Award for the Landshare project website and the Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year for work published in The Guardian Weekend magazine) bore fruit as Landshare and the Weekend columns won their categories. The Michael Smith Award went to Tom Parker Bowles for his travelogue Full English, which the judges said ‘evinced a deeply felt identification with all areas of food production, from farm to restaurant kitchen, and an equally deep commitment to quality.’ Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers, loved for its ‘direct, simple advice and uncomplicated partnerships of ingredients’ won the Food Broadcast of the Year Award. There were also prizes for less well-known authors. Laura Santtini’s triumph in the Jeremy Round Award for Best First Book category with Easy Tasty Italian was a lovely moment, while Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra won the Cookery Book of the Year Award for her international baking collection Warm Bread and Honey Cake. Alex Renton also won his first Guild Award for Food Journalist of the Year, for work published in The Times and Observer Food Monthly. Those with even more crowded mantelpieces this year include Tracey MacLeod of The Independent, who won the Restaurant Reviewer of the Year Award for the second time, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who has co-authored two past winning books. The crowning glory of the evening came when Guild President, Jane Suthering, surprised one of the Guild’s most renowned members by presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to pioneering journalist and scholar Colin Spencer. He joins the pantheon of recipients who become Guild Life Members, including Mary Berry, Hugo Dunn-Meynell, Marguerite Patten CBE, Katie Stewart, Grace Mulligan and Liz Burn. Last year’s Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the late Egon Ronay, who had presented the Awards. Guild president, Jane Suthering, commented: ‘What a fantastic party, and a great way to celebrate talent in the industry. Congratulations to all our shorlistees, and especially the winners.’ Summary of winners: Cookery Book of the Year Award Winner: Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra, Warm Bread and Honey Cake, Pavilion The other shortlistees were: Darina Allen, Forgotten Skills of Cooking, Kyle Cathie Katie Caldesi, The Italian Cookery Course, Kyle Cathie Derek Cooper Award for Campaigning and Investigative Food Writing or Broadcasting Winner: George Miller and Katharine Reeve, The Rough Guide to Food, Rough Guides The other shortlistees were: BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours: Food Scares series presented by Simon Parkes Alex Renton for work published in The Times and The Observer Food Monthly Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year Winner: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for work published in The Guardian's Weekend magazine The other shortlistees were: Shona Crawford Poole for work published in Country Living magazine Diana Henry for work published in The Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine Food Book of the Year Award Winner: Juliet Harbutt, World Cheese Book, Dorling Kindersley The other shortlistees were: Michel Roux Jr, Michel Roux: A Life in the Kitchen, Weidenfeld & Nicolson Valentine Warner, What to Eat Now – More Please, Mitchell Beazley Food Broadcast of the Year Award Winner: BBC One’s Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers presented by Nigel Slater The other shortlistees were: BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme: Clink presented by Sheila Dillon BBC Two’s Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey presented by Rick Stein Food Journalist of the Year Award Winner: Alex Renton for work published in The Times and The Observer Food Monthly The other shortlistees were: Katy Salter for work published in Waitrose Food Illustrated Bee Wilson for work published in The Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine Jeremy Round Award for Best First Book Winner: Laura Santtini, Easy Tasty Italian, Quadrille The other shortlistees were: Pascal Aussignac, Cuisinier Gascon: Meals from a Gascon Chef, Absolute Press José Pizarro with Vicky Bennison, Seasonal Spanish Food, Kyle Cathie Kate Whiteman Award for Work on Food and Travel Winner: Michael Booth, Sushi and Beyond: What the Japanese Know About Cooking, Jonathan Cape The other shortlistees were: BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme: Iceland presented by Richard Johnson Tom Kevill-Davies, The Hungry Cyclist: Pedalling the Americas in Search of the Perfect Meal, HarperCollins Michael Smith Award for Work on British Food Winner: Tom Parker Bowles, Full English: A Journey Through the British and Their Food, Ebury Press The other shortlistees were: Channel 4’s River Cottage: Winter's on the Way presented by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (produced by Keo Films) Andrea Leeman, A Taste of Gloucestershire, Redcliffe Press Miriam Polunin Award for Work on Healthy Eating Winner: Jose van Mil with Christine Archer-Mackenzie, Healthy Eating During Chemotherapy, Kyle Cathie The other shortlistees were: Margaret Rayman, Kay Gibbons and Kay Dilley, Healthy Eating: The Prostate Care Cookbook, Kyle Cathie Phil Vickery, Seriously Good! Gluten-Free Cooking, Kyle Cathie New Media of the Year Award Winner: www.landshare.net The other shortlistees were: www.timeout.com/london/restaurants Oliver Thring for work published on The Guardian/Observer Word of Mouth website Restaurant Reviewer of the Year Award Winner: Tracey MacLeod for work published in The Independent Magazine The other shortlistees were: Nick Harman for work published on www.foodepedia.co.uk John Walsh for work published in The Independent Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award Colin Spencer NOTES THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARDS PARTY Colin Spencer, the distinguished ex-president of the Guild and renowned artist, author, journalist and broadcaster, presented the Awards at this year's Guild of Food Writers' Awards. The Guild Awards are the UK's biggest food book, writing and media awards. This year’s ceremony was held on Thursday 17 June in the Design Museum Space on the second floor of the Design Museum building, Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD. The evening was compered by BBC Radio Leicester’s Bill Buckley. A delicious hot and cold canapé menu was specially devised by Blueprint Café’s popular chef and Guild member Jeremy Lee, this year a judge in BBC Two's Great British Menu. Jeremy developed the menu in conjunction with the Guild's events coordinator, Colin Pressdee and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (www.alaskaseafood.org) to showcase wonderful sustainable wild seafood including salmon; black cod; pollock; pacific cod and King crab. The Guild is thrilled that Alaska Seafood was the main sponsor for the Awards for the third year running. To accompany this splendid menu, equally exciting wines produced using traditional Spanish grape varieties were provided by Torres (www.torreswines.com). THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARDS The Guild of Food Writers Awards were established in 1996, to be presented annually in recognition of outstanding achievement in any area in which food writers work and have influence. The awards are the only ones judged entirely by professional food writers, journalists and editors. There are twelve awards; the full list of categories is: • The Cookery Book of the Year Award • The Derek Cooper Award for Campaigning and Investigative Food Writing or Broadcasting • The Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year • The Food Book of the Year Award • The Food Broadcast of the Year Award • The Food Journalist of the Year Award • The Jeremy Round Award for Best First Book • The Kate Whiteman Award for Work on Food and Travel • The Michael Smith Award for Work on British Food • The Miriam Polunin Award for Work on Healthy Eating • The New Media of the Year Award • The Restaurant Reviewer of the Year Award THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS The Guild of Food Writers was founded 26 years ago, and is a professional association of food and cookery writers, journalist, broadcasters and editors in the UK and abroad, with a membership numbering over 390. www.gfw.co.uk. Contact: Jonathan Woods, Administrator, The Guild of Food Writers, 255 Kent House Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 1JQ, jonathan@gfw.co.uk 020 8659 0422 www.gfw.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @GuildFoodWriter ALASKA SEAFOOD For 50 years Alaska has been a world leader in sustainability. In 1959, when the State of Alaska was first established, the constitution mandated that all fish should be maintained sustainably. All Alaska Seafood is wild, and all of it is sustainable. Each fishery is assessed annually and is given a total catch quota. Once that quota is reached the fishery is closed – to preserve stocks for future generations. Entire communities have been intimately involved with the harvesting of Alaska's seafood. Alaskans have always understood that the fishing industry cannot exist without a willingness to help enforce the sustainability practices set out by the State. TORRES WINES Torres commitment to combating climate change and preserving the environment makes them leaders in the wine industry. For five generations, Torres has been at the forefront of producing quality wines from the heart of Catalonia. The Torres family sees themselves as stewards of the land, working closely with nature, to preserve the tradition of winemaking for future generations. For more than 20 years, the Torres family has avoided using chemical pesticides and herbicides in its vineyards. The Nerola red and white wines, served at the Awards party, are the first wines Torres have produced in Spain that are scrupulously made using organic farming methods; fruit of a love of nature and the determination to preserve the environment. The rosé served, De Casta Rosado, illustrates the Torres winemaking traditions by celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2010.

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