2025 Awards
The application form for the 2025 awards will be available in late April 2025. We look forward to receiving your submissions. If you want to be alerted when we are open for entries just email Katie on katie@andresimon.co.uk
Nicholas Lander - ChairNicholas Lander has been a renowned restaurateur and the former restaurant correspondent of the Financial Times. He is the author of numerous books, including The Art of the Restaurateur and On The Menu.
Xanthe Clay - Trustee
Xanthe Clay has been a weekly columnist for the Telegraph for 24 years, writing about cookery, food provenance and politics, and restaurants. She is a former President of the Guild of Food Writers and winner of the special Contribution to Fine Food award from The Guild of Fine Food. Xanthe is the current Academy Chair for UK & Ireland, World's 50 Best Restaurants.
Sarah Jane Evans MW - Trustee
Sarah Jane Evans MW is an award-winning food and wine writer, critic, and author. She is co-chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards, the world's largest wine competition. Her books include The Wines of Northern Spain and Chocolate Unwrapped. She is Chairman of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, a co-founder of the Academy of Chocolate, and a former President of the Guild of Food Writers.
David Gleave MW - Trustee
David Gleave MW is the Founder and Chairman of Liberty Wines, a leading UK-based wine importer and distributor which has won numerous awards and accolades for its portfolio of wines. With over 30 years experience in the wine industry, David is known for his expertise in selecting and sourcing the highest-quality wines from around the world.
Katie Lander is joint MD of Finestripe Productions, one of the UK's most successful production companies. She is a BAFTA award-winning producer behind productions such as Sex, Myths and the Menopause presented by Davina McCall and Bank of Dave which was made into a successful Netflix series. She has also produced Sophie Grigson: Slice of Italy for The Food Network.
The André Simon Memorial Fund was set up to honour the memory of André Simon following his death in 1972 to benefit the public within the fields of food and drink. Six years later in 1978, the awards were founded and the first winners were Elizabeth David and Rosemary Hume for their outstanding contribution in the fields of food and cooking. Other recipients include Michel Roux, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Diana Henry and Rick Stein. Since the awards began, copies of the winning books have been archived in The Guildhall Library providing a snap-shot of food and drink tastes over more than 40 years.
David Gleave MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW,
Nick Lander, Xanthe Clay, Katie Lander.