Thursday 11th May: Food and drink A-listers gathered tonight at The Royal Exchange in London, for the prestigious Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards. The annual awards champion the achievements of the UK’s current and emerging writers, publishers, photographers, broadcasters and personalities who encourage us to enjoy and discover more about food and drink through their work.
The ceremony was presented by Andi Oliver, alongside celebrated chef and Awards judging panel chair, Angela Hartnett OBE. The star-studded audience included Yotam Ottolenghi, Dame Mary Berry, Si King and Dave Myers (aka The Hairy Bikers), Matt Tebbutt, Asma Khan, Rick Stein, Ravneet Gill, Stanley Tucci and Claudia Roden.
The winners were selected by an independent panel of expert judges comprising some of the most talented figures in their fields: Clare Finney, Emma Inch, Honey Spencer, Jimi Famurewa, Joel Harrison and Tim Hayward.
Writer, Felicity Cloake, won Food Book of the year for Red Sauce Brown Sauce which follows her adventures, by bicycle, in a quest to uncover the great British breakfast. The judging team were wholehearted in their praise for the Debut Food Book winner, Breadsong. Father and daughter Al & Kitty Tait are behind the part memoir part cookbook which tells the redemptive story of Kitty’s path from depressive withdrawal to finding the healing power of breadmaking.
A Fortnum’s Special Award went to Professor Tim Spector for his pioneering work bringing the science of food to the widest readership. Food for Life draws on a decade of cutting-edge research to provide an empowering and insightful guide to how we should eat for our health and for the health of the planet.
A second Fortnum’s Special Award went to legendary London chef Jeremy Lee for COOKING: Simply and Well, for One or Many. Lee has been one of the treasures of the UK restaurant scene for many years. His long-awaited book includes recipes, charming illustration and warm stories of a cook’s life and inspirations.
Celebrating Jamaican culture, cuisine, and history, West Winds by Riaz Phillips won Cookery Book of the Year. Debut Cookery Book went to writer and restaurateur Cynthia Shanmugalingam, for Rambutan, her joy-filled love letter to Sri Lanka, with tender family stories of the island.
The Drink Book of the Year went to Tom Morton for Holy Waters which explores the links between faith and alcohol, spirits and the spiritual. Debut Drink Book winner is head brewer Jaega Wise for Wild Brews, an inspiring guide on how to brew beers at home using wild fermentation techniques.
Further winners include Searching for Italy for best Programme where Stanley Tucci travels across Italy to discover the secrets and delights of the country’s regional cuisines. Food Writer went to Bee Wilson for her exceptional and poignant work in FT Weekend Magazine. Fliss Freeborn was awarded Cookery Writer of the year for her work in Student Cuisine for the Gloomy Teen. Kim Lightbody took home the Photographer award. Drink Writer went to Will Hawkes for his work in Pellicle, while Joanna Taylor received the Restaurant Writer award for work in ES Magazine.The Audio category was won by Blasstal, a podcast about food and folklore on the Isle of Man presented and produced by Lucy Dearlove and Katie Callin.
Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt presented The Hairy Bikers with the trophy for Personalities of the Year for the second year running. The Digital Creator of the Year went to Giuseppe Federici AKA @sepps_eats whose millions of followers devour his plant-based content on TikTok and Instagram, many of which he films with his Nonna. Both categories are chosen by the public, allowing fans from across the country to vote for their favourite foodies.
FOOD BOOK
WINNER: Red Sauce Brown Sauce: A British Breakfast Odyssey by Felicity Cloake, published by Mudlark, (HarperCollins)
SHORTLIST: The Joy of Snacks by Laura Goodman published by Headline Home
DEBUT FOOD BOOK
WINNER: Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives by Kitty & Al Tait, published by Bloomsbury
SHORTLIST: A Portrait of British Cheese by Angus D. Birditt, published by Quadrille
SHORTLIST: Takeaway: Stories from a childhood behind the counter by Angela Hui by Trapeze (Orion Publishing Group)
COOKERY BOOK
WINNER: West Winds: Recipes, history and tales from Jamaica by Riaz Phillips, published by DK SHORTLIST:Home Food: Recipes to Comfort and Connect by Olia Hercules, published by Bloomsbury SHORTLIST: Modern Pressure Cooking by Catherine Phipps, published by Quadrille
DEBUT COOKERY BOOK
WINNER: Rambutan: Recipes from Sri Lanka by Cynthia Shanmugalingam, published by Bloomsbury SHORTLIST: Hoppers: The Cookbook by Karan Gokani, published by Quadrille
SHORTLIST: MEZCLA by Ixta Belfrage, published by Ebury Press
DRINK BOOK
WINNER: Holy Waters: Searching for the sacred in a glass by Tom Morton, published by Watkins SHORTLIST: A Sense of Place: A journey around Scotland’s whisky by Dave Broom, published by Mitchell Beazley
SHORTLIST: Clubland: How the Working Men’s Club Shaped Britain by Pete Brown, published by HarperNorth
DEBUT DRINK BOOK
WINNER: Wild Brews by Jaega Wise, published by Kyle Books (Octopus)
SHORTLIST: Cocktail Time!: The Ultimate Guide To Grown-Up Fun by Paul Feig, published by William Morrow (HarperCollins)
SHORTLIST: Watercress, Willow and Wine: A Celebration of Recipes and Wines from English Vineyards by
Cindy-Marie Harvey, published by Love Wine Food Books (Whitefox)
COOKERY WRITER
WINNER: Fliss Freeborn for work on Student Cuisine for the Gloomy Teen
SHORTLIST: Ed Smith for work in The Sunday Times and Waitrose FOOD Magazine
SHORTLIST: Ravinder Bhogal for work in FT Weekend Magazine
FOOD WRITER
WINNER: Bee Wilson for work in The Guardian and FT Weekend Magazine
SHORTLIST: Caroline Eden for work in FT Weekend Magazine
SHORTLIST: Debora Robertson for work in delicious. Magazine
DRINK WRITER
WINNER: Will Hawkes for work in Pellicle Magazine
SHORTLIST: Adam Wells for work in Cider Review and Pellicle Magazine
SHORTLIST: Molly Codyre for work in Foodism
RESTAURANT WRITER
WINNER: Joanna Taylor for work in ES Magazine
SHORTLIST: Oliver Guy for work on Metropolitan Food Archives
SHORTLIST: Isaac Rangaswami for work in Vittles and Eater London
PROGRAMME
WINNER: Searching for Italy presented by Stanley Tucci, Production Company: RAW
SHORTLIST: Big Zuu’s Big Eats presented by Big Zuu, Production Company: boom
SHORTLIST: Nadiya’s Everyday Baking, presented by Nadiya Hussain, Production Company: Wall to Wall Media
AUDIO
WINNER: Blasstal, A podcast by Lecker. Presented and produced by Lucy Dearlove and Katie Callin
SHORTLIST: Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster; Production Company: Plosive
SHORTLIST: The Full English, Presented by Lewis Bassett; Produced by Lewis Bassett and Forest DLG
PHOTOGRAPHER
WINNER: Kim Lightbody
SHORTLIST: Georgia Glynn-Smith
SHORTLIST: Jonathan Gregson
SHORTLIST: Tory McTernan
FORTNUM’S SPECIAL AWARD
WINNER: COOKING: Simply and Well, for One or Many by Jeremy Lee. Published by 4th Estate
FORTNUM’S SPECIAL AWARD
WINNER: Food for Life by Tim Spector. Published by Penguin Random House
DIGITAL CREATOR OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Giuseppe Federici (AKA @Sepps_eats)
PERSONALITIES OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Si King and Dave Myers (AKA The Hairy Bikers)
For further information about the awards please visit:
https://www.fortnumandmason.com/awards/food-and-drink-awards
@fortnums #FandMawards
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Contact:
Media enquiries: Fiona@fabcomm.co.uk 07831 193250
Awards enquiries: Lindsay@fabcomm.co.uk 07730 565320