Winners of the André Simon 2023 Awards
The trustees for the André Simon Food and Drink Awards are delighted to announce the winning books for the 45th year of the prestigious awards, which were announced at a ceremony held at The Don in Central London on April 29th. Winners were congratulated with a toast courtesy of Liberty Wines and joined by an in-person and virtual audience, with guests from all over the world including Italy, Poland and the USA. The winning books out of 140 entries are:
Food Book Award
- Ravenous: How to Get Ourselves and Our Planet into Shape
by Henry Dimbleby with Jemima Lewis, Profile Books
Drink Book Award
- The New French Wine: Redefining the World's Greatest Wine Culture
by Jon Bonné, Ten Speed Press
Special Commendation Award
- Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking
by Emiko Davies, Smith Street Books
John Avery Award
- How to Drink Australian: An Essential Modern Wine Book
by Jane Lopes & Jonathan Ross, Murdoch Books
Ravenous by Henry Dimblely with Jemima Lewis has won this year's Food Book Award (Profile Books). Few people know the workings of the food system better than Henry Dimbleby, founder of the Leon restaurant chain, government adviser and author of the National Food Strategy. In Ravenous, he and co-author Jemima Lewis take us behind the scenes to reveal the mechanisms that act together to shape the modern diet - and therefore the world - explaining not just why the food system is leading us into disaster but what can be done about it.
This year's Special Commendation Award went to Gohan by Emiko Davies (Smith Street Books). 'Gohan'- meaning 'rice' as well as 'family' meal - puts a spotlight on the rice bowl and its integral part on the Japanese table. With this core ingredient at its centre, Emiko Davies transports readers to her childhood with quick and easy meals that show the beauty in simplicity and highlight the Japanese philosophy that fresh, seasonal food doesn't need much to enhance its natural flavour.
This year's Drink Book Award went to The New French Wine by Jon Bonné (Ten Speed Press). Jon was previously shortlisted for the André Simon Awards in 2013 for The New California Wine. In his latest book, he tells the ground-breaking tale of the world's greatest wine culture at a moment of profound change. France is the soul of the global wine industry and over the past 20 years, French wine has been simultaneously destroying and recreating itself, driven by a talented generation of pioneering winemakers. The New French Wine takes readers on a tour through every wine region of France, featuring 800 producers and more than 7,000 wines, plus the incisive narrative and compelling storytelling that has earned Jon Bonné accolades and legions of fans in the wine world.
The winner of this year's John Avery Award is How to Drink Australian by sommeliers and wine importers Jane Lopes and Jonathan Ross (Murdoch Books). How to Drink Australian brings together global experts to answer its namesake question, offering sweeping, practical, and compelling insight into all aspects of Australian wine, curated with a reverence for Australia's first custodians. The book is a lively, in-depth and sometimes surprising exploration of the why, the how and the where of one of the most exciting wine-producing countries in the world today. Former trustee John Avery was an early champion of Australian wine.
the awards
Food Assessor Asma Khan.
Image courtesy of Ursula Soltys
'Ravenous: How to get ourselves and our planet into shape' by Henry Dimbleby and Jemima Lewis is a book we all need to read. It shows us how to eat more responsibly and to make our food choices based on what is good for our health and good for the environment. 'Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking' by Emiko Davies stood out from the very beginning. As someone who comes from a rice-growing and predominantly rice-eating region in India, I loved that the book title was the Japanese word for 'rice'. Gohan demystifies Japanese cooking, from hotpots to stews, the simplest but most delicious dishes.
Drink Assessor Dave Broom.
Image courtesy of Grant Anderson
Jon Bonné's 'The New French Wine' is a comprehensive analysis of the new movements within that country's wine - the reviving of old vineyards and 'forgotten' varieties, the deepening belief in organic and regenerative practises and the way in which a new wave of vigneron is challenging norms. Jane Lopes & Jonathan Ross' 'How to Drink Australian' is a much-needed reference guide to what is happening in that country at a time when its wine industry continues to transform itself. Stunningly designed and comprehensive in scope, it not only examines what Australian wine is today, but also refers to what learnings should be taken from the country's indigenous people at a time of climate crisis.