Awards Ceremony in Paris
posted 7th December 2021
The Gourmand Awards were inaugurated in 1995 By Edouard Cointreau, of the famous Liqueur, Cognac and Champagne family. The annual awards are a celebration of the best food, cooking wine and drinks writing, and now include books, magazines, publishers and digital activity. I have been fortunate to receive awards for my books in 2010, 2015, and 2017. At the end of November 2021 I received two new awards at the ceremony in Paris. The first, awarded on 29th November, was for 'Wine Faults and Flaws: A Practical Guide' which won the year's award for the Best Wine Book in the World, for Professionals. On the 30th November there was another ceremony to award the best writing of the first 25 years of the awards. I was delighted that 'Wine Production and Quality' by Keith Grainger and Hazel Tattersall was given the award for the Best in the World (Wine Book for Professionals) in 25 years.
Despite the huge challenges presented by Covid restrictions, people had travelled from afar to be at the event, including - including participants from Bolivia, Peru, Indonesia, India, the USA and Canada. I was particularly pleased to see the legendary Kyle Cathie receive an award for 'A Taste of Home' published to raise funds for 'The Passage,' London's largest homeless charity. HRH The Duke of Cambridge writes the wrote the foreword fort this collection of recipes.