how to cook good food

recipes for food lovers

  • Home
  • About
    • Testimonials
  • Recipe Archive
    • Snacks and starters
      • Breads
      • Soups
    • Main dishes
      • Fish dishes
      • Meat dishes
      • Seafood
      • Vegetable dishes
      • Vegetarian dishes
    • Puddings
      • Ice Cream
      • Desserts
      • Tea time treats
  • Supper Club
    • In The Press
    • Allergies & Dietary Requirements
    • The Gin Kitchen Supper Club with A Table Outside
  • Learn to cook
    • Sourdough Demos
    • Kids Cookery Lessons in Surrey and Pop Up Bake Clubs
    • Adult Cookery Lessons in Surrey with Laura Scott
    • Corporate cookery classes
  • Food Orders/At Home Dining
  • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Cook books / The Andre Simon Book Awards for 2016 – A Preview

The Andre Simon Book Awards for 2016 – A Preview

January 5, 2017 by Laura Scott Leave a Comment

This year I will be attending The Andre Simon Book Awards for 2016, documenting the winners of this annual event held at The Goring Hotel, London, SW1. Before the event itself, I thought it would be a good idea to ask the award’s food assessor, Bee Wilson a few questions about the process of selecting the shortlist from a whopping 140 books (Fiona Beckett is the drinks assessor).

the andre simon book awards for 2016

Bee Wilson is a food writer and historian who has written a number of books on the subject such as “Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat”, “First Bite: How We Learn to Eat” and most recently “This is not a diet book: A User’s Guide To Eating Well”. Her approach to food is refreshing, level-headed and thoughtful and she writes with effortless style and ease.

the andre Simon book awards for 2016

Having never written a book not attended a book awards before now, I thought I should find out a little bit more about how Bee tackles the task of filtering down stacks of books to the final few nominees, who are as follows:

 

Land of fish and rice by Fuchsia Dunlop (Bloomsbury)

Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds by  Yemisi Aribisala (Cassava Republic)

Gather by Gill Meller (Quadrille)

The A-Z of Eating by Felicity Cloake (Fig Tree)

Fresh India by Meera Sodha (Fig Tree)

The Oxford Companion to Cheese edited by Catherine Donnelly (OUP)

Pride and Pudding by Regula Ysewijn (Murdoch Books)

Flavour:Eat what you love by Ruby Tandoh (Chatto & Windus)

 

How long did it take to narrow down the books and pick the finalists?

It was a long process of many months, because the books arrived throughout the year, in dribs and drabs. I kept reorganising them in huge piles, more than 140 of them in all. Some were quite quick to sift out – there were whole rafts of clean eating books this year, which seems to be a publishing trend that shows no signs of going away. But the hard, slow agonising part was saying goodbye to books that we really loved, but which didn’t quite make it onto the final list, for one reason or another. There were maybe 30 books that we seriously considered before finally whittling it down to 8. That was the part I didn’t enjoy.

What factors contribute to the books making the final stage?

The remit of the awards are that the books need to be well written and appealingly produced but also to educate and inform. So we always tried to bear that in mind. It has to be about the writing, not just about the food. During our conversations at the short listing meeting, I felt that what distinguished the books on the final list was a freshness of voice, and an approach to food that opens the reader’s eyes to new ways of cooking and eating. I feel very excited and proud about all the books on the final list. Some of them are books I never would have come across, had it not been for the prize.

Are there any emerging new themes for cookery books this year?

I’ve already mentioned clean eating or books on food and wellbeing, a category which has mushroomed out of all proportion. In the past, after I have judged food prizes, I will take some of the cookbooks along to my teenage daughter’s school library. This year, I am thinking twice about donating some of the books, because they contain false dogma about nutrition and body image that I am not keen to expose young people to.

On the other hand, a trend that I found very exciting was a move towards ever more globalised cuisine. There were amazing books on the food of China, Pakistan, Spain and Nigeria, to name but a few. It feels as if the world of food is opening up to new flavours, maybe because of social media.

Do you enjoy reading cookery/food history books as much as writing them?

Even though it is my ‘work’, I never get bored of reading food books. It’s an inexhaustible subject. I still take them to bed for comfort and my kitchen shelves are groaning under the weight of my current favourites.

Do you have an all time favourite cookery book/food writer?

In terms of pure non-recipe based food writing, I don’t think anyone has equalled the American writer M.F.K.Fisher. But for a practical kitchen companion, I always go back to Nigella, as well as to Good Things to Eat by Lucas Hollweg, one of the best and most underrated all-purpose cookbooks ever written.

What advice do you have for those dreaming about writing their own cook books?

Try to develop your voice. Imagine you are speaking to a dear and intimate friend, to whom you urgently need to communicate something. All of us can eat, and enjoy food, but it’s something else to make someone taste your words.

Thanks to Bee Wilson for her words. Her latest book “This is not a diet book” is out now. 

The Andre Simon Book Awards are hosted on Tuesday 24th January at The Goring Hotel.

You can follow the awards on Twitter @AndreSimonAward

Share via:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Cook books, Food news Tagged With: Andre Simon book awards, Bee Wilson, cook books

« Christmas Cranberry & Apple Filo Mincemeat Pies
Asian Style Rice Soup »

Feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Laura Scott, food blogger.

I'm Laura. Private chef, supper club host and cookery tutor.

I love cooking. Always have. My site represents my life in food. With pictures. Food for me is all about interesting flavour combinations and the influence of the growing season.

Cooking is all about sharing and enjoying food. It makes life good.

Subscribe to How to Cook

Connect With Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Recommended by Muddy Stilettos Little Black Book of Best Businesses
Local Food Britain Approved Member

Follow me on Instagram

Pancake day ideas. Wholemeal pancakes with espress Pancake day ideas. Wholemeal pancakes with espresso butter and caramelised bananas. To make the espresso butter blend softened butter with maple syrup, coffee essence and a spoon of espresso powder or a half shot of strong coffee. Also good with a pinch of cinnamon.
#pancakeday #wholemealpancakes #pancakes #shrovetuesday #pancakestack #feedfeed #thebakefeed #recipeoftheday #foodphotography #surreyfoodie
Finally got around to starting my daughter’s bro Finally got around to starting my daughter’s bronze DofE skills training. Week One are these @meerasodha vegan choc chip cookies which were in @guardianfeast this weekend. Nine more weeks to go...
#dukeofedinburghaward #bronzeaward #dofebronze #bakingskills #cookingskills #learntocook #teencook #feedfeed #thebakefeed #veganbaking #chocolatechipcookies #lifeskills
Testing out a supperclub dish which is pork belly Testing out a supperclub dish which is pork belly based without the skin but the skin itself is probably even better than the main course. Thanks to @bensbutchery for my supplies including shin of beef - braising it Asian style. #crackling #porkcrackling #localproduce #locallysourced #epsom #surreyfood #recipetesting #epsomsupperclub #surreychef
We had 10 (2 didn’t want to be photo’ed) keen We had 10 (2 didn’t want to be photo’ed) keen cooks in the kitchen yesterday for my half term pop up bake club. They went home with bags of veggie & cheese soda bread rolls, veggie packed spring rolls (big hit) and oaty chocolate energy balls. A perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon!
#popupbakeclub #epsom #surrey #learntocook #halftermfun #kidscookery #lifeskills #healthyeatingideas #surreychef #foodeducation #surreyhills
Our summer solstice supper with @atableoutside at Our summer solstice supper with @atableoutside at @theginkitchen has already sold out! So if you’d like to come along to our next collaborative event we’re holding a Harvest Moon supper. Gin  cocktails paired with each course on the 3rd of October. There are welcome cocktails, a tour of the distillery and an after dinner liqueur which is always a surprise and always delicious. Tickets are now available to book via A Table Outside website.
See you there...
#harvestmoon #supperclub #epsomsupperclub #atableoutside #theginkitchen #seasonalsupper #artisangin #dorking #surreyhills #popupdining #gincocktails #surreychef #surreyproduce #localproduce #hellodorking #surreylife
Testing out flavour combinations for the veggie & Testing out flavour combinations for the veggie & cheese packed soda bread rolls on next week’s pop up bake club. These ones have sweet potato & mature cheddar in them and are very light & fluffy with a crusty top. Will be trying them with lunch today. #popupbakeclub #epsom #surrey #halftermactivities #kidsinthekitchen #lifeskills #learntocook #cookeryclass #surreychef #surreyfood #halftermbaking #surreyhills
Highlight meal of the year so far @supawan_thaifoo Highlight meal of the year so far @supawan_thaifood - soft shell crab, crispy noodle fried prawns, duck curry with lychees, braised pork belly, papaya salad, morning glory, jasmine rice with lychee sorbet to finish. Forgot to order the aubergine larb so need to go back...
#supawanthaifood #kingscross #caledonianroad #londonfood
Last night’s vegan valentine supperclub dessert. Last night’s vegan valentine supperclub dessert. Dark chocolate mousse on a biscuit base, whipped coconut cream, rose petals & a chocolate chip cookie to dip into the mousse.  #vegansupperclub #epsomsupperclub #popupdining #veganvalentine #epsom #surreychef #surreylife #feedfeed #veganbaking #surreyvegan #cheflife #plantbasedfoodie #uksupperclubs
Black dal having a night sitting in the fridge to Black dal having a night sitting in the fridge to develop the flavour before tomorrow’s vegan supperclub. It’s so different to a red lentil dal and has such a delicious flavour. Thanks m looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks of it. #vegansupperclub #epsomsupperclub #popupdining #epsom #surreychef #cheflife #veganfood #plantbased #blackdal #uksupperclubs
Another batch of vegan hob nobs baked and blitzed Another batch of vegan hob nobs baked and blitzed for the base of this Thursday’s vegan supperclub dessert. Almost a shame to turn them crumbs when they taste so good. #epsomsupperclub #vegansupperclub #epsom #surreyfood #popupdining #veganbaking #plantbasedrecipes #veganvalentines #feedfeed #thebakefeed #surreychef
Trying out vegan cookie recipes for This Thursday’s vegan valentine supperclub. The vegan hob nob base for the chocolate mousse is ready to go and these cookies will go perfectly as an added chocolate bonus AND the vegan chocolate truffles being by served with coffee will finish off the evening perfectly so long as everyone loves chocolate 🍫 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫 #vegansupperclub #epsomsupperclub #vegancookies #chocchipcookies #feedfeed #thebakefeed #epsom #surreychef #veganvalentine #surreyfoodie #popupdining #vegancookies #plantbasedbakes
Private dinner last night in London and here is th Private dinner last night in London and here is the dessert. Passion fruit & mango meringue roulade.  #privatechef #privateevents #cheflife #feedfeed #thebakefeed #meringue #roulade #dessert #foodandwine
Load More… Follow Laura
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
HTTP Error. Unable to connect to the Instagram API. Feed will not update.
Ranked 69 in the Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs Foodies100 UK Food Blogs

As Seen In…

  • The Guardian
  • SurreyMummy
  • Mindful Mum
  • Marie Claire
  • Dotcomgiftshop

Copyright

All site content (words, images & recipes) are the property of Laura Scott and How to Cook Good Food. All rights reserved.

Please ask permission before republishing my content.

Legal

  • Home
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Laura

Copyright © 2021 · Laura Scott and How To Cook Good Food
Surrey Web Design

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.