The food book of the year, of which there were many times more entries than for drink book of the year, was eventually decided as baker Dan Lepard’s Short and Sweet published by Fourth Estate. Xanthe Clay advised the judges on the food books. Each of these winners receives a cheque for £2,000.
After these announcements were made, our Spanish specialist Luis Gutiérrez (see his latest article, on the revival of Xarello) and sherry guru Jesus Barquín wondered whether it had really been worth their while trekking to London for the award ceremony, but were finally rewarded with the judges’ lone discretionary special commendation worth £1,000 for The Finest Wines of Rioja and Northwest Spain, the book they wrote with Victor de la Serna.
The picture below, also taken by Nick’s sister-in-law Sarah Barclay, shows Luis (left) and Jesus flanking the book’s photographer Jon Wyand. They had anyway taken the precaution of making a 10.30 booking at Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental, either for celebration or consolation. The late start was presumably less of a shock to their Spanish digestive systems than it would be to a British one and, knowing their tastes, I suspect they spent a good portion of their winnings on and at Dinner.
Nick was alas unable to perform his usual role as a trustee and judge of the André Simon Awards this year as he had just had a major operation on his less-than-perfect gut. He was, and still is, in intensive care but is now stable and is expected to be transferred to his own room by Saturday morning at the latest. His sister Katie Lander is secretary of the André Simon Awards, which is why I have access to the results and images so soon.
The shortlisted books in the food category were:
- BOCCA
by Jacob Kenedy
Published by Bloomsbury - COUTURE CHOCOLATE
by William Curley
Published by Jacqui Small - SCOTTISH SEAFOOD
by Catherine Brown
Published by Birlinn - SHORT AND SWEET
by Dan Lepard
Published by Fourth Estate - TASTING INDIA
by Christine Manfield
Published by Octopus Books - THE GOOD COOK
by Simon Hopkinson
Published by BBC Books - TRIPE
by Marjorie Houlihan
Published by Prospect Books
The shortlisted books in the drink category were:
- AUTHENTIC WINE
by Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop MW
Published by University of California Press - IN SEARCH OF PINOT NOIR
by Benjamin Lewin MW
Published by Vendange Press - THE OXFORD COMPANION TO BEER
by Garrett Oliver
Published by Oxford University Press - THE FINEST WINES OF RIOJA AND NORTHWEST SPAIN
by Jesus Barquin, Luis Gutierrez and Victor de la Serna
Published by Aurum Press
