MEDIA KIT ON DROPBOX: BOOK COVERS, News Release in French and English. Additional photos to be added following event. 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l2kxp52thqepq5f/AAD6Ms4FnnMfGfCEOnMFFyGFa?dl=0

November 14, 9:00 PM ET, Toronto, ON — Taste Canada Awards / Les Lauréats des Saveurs du Canada has revealed this year’s winners of the prestigious culinary writing awards.

At the Gala, Taste Canada Awards presented 22 winners with a Gold or Silver Award.

This year, Taste Canada Awards, which has been honouring Canada’s world-class culinary writers for 19 years, received 148 submissions (96 books and 52 food blogs).  The Shortlist was announced in September.

Taste Canada Awards also named this year’s Hall of Fame Award inductees sponsored by The Culinary Historians of Canada. Honoured were Julian Armstrong, an award-winning food journalist and author and James Barber (posthumous), a food writer and television personality who authored twelve cookbooks.

The Gala is a one-of-a-kind gastronomic event with a Red Carpet and more than a dozen food stations presented by Toronto’s most celebrated chefs.  CBC radio personality and former host of the top-rated show, Fresh Air, Mary Ito, served as host of this year’s Gala at the Arcadian Court in Toronto.  

Taste Canada Awards: Categories

General Cookbooks / Livres de Cuisine Générale

Single-Subject Cookbooks / Livres de Cuisine Sujet Unique

Regional/Cultural Cookbooks / Livres de Cuisine Régionale et Culturelle

Culinary Narratives / Les Narrations Culinaires

Health and Special Diet Cookbooks/Santé et Diète Particulière (NEW CATEGORY)

Food Blog / Blogue Culinaire

THE WINNERS ARE:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Culinary Narratives

GOLD

Mechefske, Lindy. Sir John’s Table: The Culinary Life and Times of Canada’s First Prime Minister. Goose Lane Editions, Fredericton

SILVER

Alford, Jeffrey. Chicken in the Mango Tree: Food and Life in a Thai-Khmer Village. Douglas & McIntyre, Madeira Park

General Cookbooks

GOLD

Canadian Living Test Kitchen. Canadian Living: The Ultimate Cookbook. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

SILVER

O’Brady, Tara. Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Every Day. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

Regional/Cultural Cookbooks

GOLD

Musgrave, Susan. A Taste of Haida Gwaii: Food Gathering and Feasting at the Edge of the World. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

SILVER

Nimji, Noorbanu and Karen Anderson. A Spicy Touch: Family Favourites from Noorbanu Nimji’s Kitchen. A Spicy Touch Publishing (Canada) Inc., Calgary

Single-Subject Cookbooks

GOLD

Mundy, Jane. The Ocean Wise Cookbook 2: More Seafood Recipes That Are Good for the Planet. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

SILVER

Walsh, Victoria and Scott McCallum. A Field Guide to Canadian Cocktails. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

Health and Special Diet Cookbooks

GOLD

Telpner, Meghan. The UnDiet Cookbook: 130 Gluten-Free Recipes for a Healthy and Awesome Life. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

SILVER

Eustace, Mary Jo. Scared Wheatless: Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes That Won’t Make You Lose Your Mind. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

Food Blog

GOLD

In Pursuit of More, Shira McDermott

www.inpursuitofmore.com

FRENCH LANGUAGE

Les Narrations Culinaires

GOLD

Chartier, François. L’essential de Chartier. Les Éditions de Presse, Montréal

SILVER

Dô, Sylvie. L’Épicerie : Le plaisir de faire les bons choix. Les Éditions Caractère, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Générale

GOLD

Robitaille, Josée. C’est l’hiver! Les éditions de la Carotte blanche, Montréal

SILVER

Coup de Pouce, St-Germain, Claudine. Cuisiner pour une semaine, un mois, un an. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Régionale et Culturelle

GOLD

Loureiro, Helena. La cuisine d’Helena : 80 recettes portugaises pour ensoleiller votre table. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

SILVER
Di Domenico, Maria. Fine cuisine italienne des Abruzzes. Les Éditions Glénat Québec, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Sujet Unique

GOLD

Vézina, Daniel. La cuisine réfléchie : Bien manger sans gaspiller. Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal

SILVER

Ricardo. Mon premier livre de recettes. Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal

Santé et Diète Particulière

GOLD

Côté, Stéphanie et Philippe Grand. Nutrition Sportive : 21 jours de menus. Modus Vivendi, Montréal

SILVER

Michaud, Eliane. Naturellement sucré : 100 desserts à base de sucres naturels. Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur, Laval

Blogue Culinaire

GOLD

The Green Life, Sophie Bourdon

www.thegreenlife.ca                                                                               

Taste Canada Cooks the Books

Taste Canada Cooks the Books is a cooking competition that invites Canadian culinary students from across the nation to compete for the title of Canada’s Best New Student Chefs. Taste Canada Cooks the Books showcases the talent of Canada’s next generation of chefs, honours the authors and brings some of this year’s outstanding submitted cookbooks to life. Cooks the Books is presented by Taste Canada Awards and by the Alberta Canola Producers, sponsored by Egg Farmers of Canada, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and RICARDO.

The teams are paired with a culinary author and given the challenge to recreate a recipe from an author’s cookbook, along with their own signature garnish. This year, the students competed in front of food lovers, industry professionals and peers at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair on November 12^th and 13^th. A mentoring author who offered guidance and motivation joined the teams on stage. A panel of notable culinary experts judged the competition.

The winners were announced at the Taste Canada Awards Gala on November 14^th where they were presented with prizes, a letter of recommendation and a trophy to display at their school.

2016 Taste Canada Awards Hall of Fame Inductees

Julian Armstrong

For over fifty years, Armstrong has tirelessly explored the cuisine of her adopted province, Quebec. For The Montreal Gazette and The Montreal Star she traveled into every region to record its recipes and food stories. Her two cookbooks – A Taste of Quebec (1990, updated 2001) and Made in Quebec: A Culinary Journey (2014) – explained and celebrated her province’s cuisine to Canada and the rest of the world. An award-winning food journalist, she mentored many other food writers. Julian Armstrong is a true Quebec / Canadian food ambassador.

James Barber

James Barber (born 1923; died 2007) was a Vancouver engineer who started food writing in his late forties. The first of his twelve cookbooks was Ginger Tea Makes Friends in 1971, which encouraged kitchen confidence with simple techniques and fresh, easy-to-find British Columbian ingredients. He became best known as “The Urban Peasant,” the name of his 1991 to 2002 CBC cooking show, which demonstrated unpretentious, flavourful dishes. A witty and genial culinary writer and television personality, Barber strove to demystify recipes so that anyone could produce tasty meals from local ingredients – an approach that presaged the 100-mile diet.

Taste Canada Awards Gala – A one-of-a-kind gastronomic affair, featuring:

Chef Dan Craig, Delta Toronto Hotel

Chef Vanessa Yeung, Aphrodite Cooks

Chef Dufflet Rosenberg, Dufflet Pastries

Chef Matt Basile, Fidel Gastro’s

Chef Ted Reader, Ted’s BBQ

Bonnie Gordon, Bonnie Gordon Culinary College

Chef Graeme Little, EPIC, Fairmont Royal York Hotel

Chef Tawfik Shehata, The International Centre

Chef Michael Robertson, O&B Arcadian Court

Chocolatier Sandra Abballe, Succulent Chocolates

Cheese Table, presented by Dairy Farmers of Canada

Wine and Cheese Reception presented by NC Teaching Winery, Monforte Dairy, De La Terre Bakery, and Rootham Gourmet Preserves

About Taste Canada Awards/ Les Lauréats des Saveurs du Canada

Celebrating Canada’s World-class Culinary Writers

Taste Canada Awards celebrates 19 years as the only organization in Canada that recognizes this nation’s abundance of outstanding culinary writers. The mission of Taste Canada Awards is to be the authoritative culinary writing award in Canada by showcasing and recognizing the best. Our vision is to promote Canadian-authored culinary writing so it is recognized as world class. Drawn from Canadian academic, publishing, creative and institutional fields, the independent panel of judges reviews submissions across six categories.  In 2015, the total units sold in Canada for books in the “Cooking” subject category amounted to 1.3 million for a total value of $38.7 million, according to BookNet Canada. For more information, visit, www.tastecanada.org

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TASTE CANADA MEDIA CONTACT: Saskia Brussaard, Crave Public Relations, media@cravepr.com