See the winners from the 40th edition of the André Simon Food and Drink book awards, announced on 5th February at the Goring Hotel in London…
The winner of the drink category was The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste: A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe, by Rajat Parr and Jordan MacKay.
‘I expect this book to find its way on to the shelves of wine drinkers and collectors as well as those of aspiring sommeliers,’ said wine writer Victoria Moore, who was assessing the drinks category.
Other shortlisted books for the category included Oz Clarke’s Red & White: An Unquenchable Thirst for Wine and Simon Woolf’s Amber Revolution: How the World Learned to Love Orange Wine.
Also shortlisted were Vineyards, Rocks, & Soils: The Wine Lover’s Guide to Geology, by Alex Maltman and Flawless: Understanding Faults in Wine, by Jamie Goode.
The winner of the food category was writer Diana Henry for her book How to Eat a Peach, which was praised for being ‘beautifully written but most of all it’s packed with delicious and genuinely cook-able food and lots of helpful tips for the home cook,’ by Meera Sodha, who was assessing the food books.
The assessors guide a panel of the trustees on the entries – Nicholas Lander (chair), Sarah Jane Evans MW, David Gleave MW and Xanthe Clay – and the panel make the final choice on the winners.
The special commendation award went to Together: Our Community Cookbook, a cookbook of recipes from the women of Hubb community kitchen, affected by the Grenfell Tower fire and which includes a foreword from the Duchess of Sussex.
The John Avery Award winner went to Black Sea: Dispatches and Recipes – Through Darkness and Light, described as ‘a luminous piece of travel writing on the area.’
The André Simon Food and Drink book awards have been running since 1978, named after André Simon, the French-born, UK-dwelling wine merchant and food and wine writer, who died in 1970.
