TORONTO — The Taste Canada Awards held its annual gala October 27 to fête the winners of the country’s only national food-writing awards. The event, co-hosted by Mairlyn Smith and Hubert Cormier, was held at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.
The annual gala brings together writers, publishers, chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, industry, media and cookbook fans to promote a vibrant national conversation about food and the art and culture of culinary writing. This year, 91 cookbooks and 50 food blogs entered the competition.
The categories are divided into English and French and sub categories: Culinary Narratives, General Cookbooks, Regional/Cultural Cookbooks, Single-Subject Cookbooks and Health and Special Diet Cookbooks.
The top-two winners in each category are recognized with gold and silver awards. Gold winners include: Out of Old Ontario Kitchens by Lindy Mechefske (Culinary narrative), N’avalez pas tout ce qu’on vous dit by Bernard Lavallé (Les Narrations Culinaires), Le Meilleur du bistro by Jean-Francois Plante (Livres de Cuisine Générale) and Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian (Regional/Cultural Cookbooks).
“Food writing has been as undervalued as the actual work of food preparation. Taste Canada is the only body in the country recognizing the importance of the work of food writers. Food stories are, after all, the real stories of our lives,” says Lindy Mechefske, author of Out of Old Ontario Kitchens.
