Taste Canada has revealed the finalists for its 19th annual food writing awards‚ recognizing cookbook authors in six English-language and six French-language categories. This year sees the addition of a secondary silver award in each category (with the exception of the Food Blog category)‚ as well as a new prize for titles focused on health and special diets.
This year Taste Canada received 150 submissions – a combination of 96 books and 54 food blogs. The winners will be honoured at a gala fundraiser and reception hosted by CBC Radio’s Mary Ito on Nov. 14 at Toronto’s Arcadian Court. The judges will also be revealed at that time.
Here are the English-language nominees:
Culinary Narratives
- Jeffrey Alford, Chicken in the Mango Tree: Food and Life in a Thai-Khmer Village (Douglas & McIntyre)
- Linda Gaylard, The Tea Book (DK)
- Alissa Hamilton, Got Milked? What You Don’t Know About Dairy, The Truth About Calcium, And Why You’ll Thrive Without Milk (HarperCollins)
- Peter McClusky, Ontario Garlic: The Story from Farm to Festival (Arcadia Publishing and The History Press)
- Lindy Mechefske, Sir John’s Table: The Culinary Life and Times of Canada’s First Prime Minister (Goose Lane Editions)
General Cookbooks
- Canadian Living Test Kitchen and Irene Fong‚ The Ultimate Cookbook (Les Éditions de l’Homme)
- Peter Neal and Chris Neal‚ Goodness: Recipes and Stories (Blakeman Books)
- Tara O’ Brady, Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Every Day (Appetite by Random House)
- Mairlyn Smith, Homegrown: Celebrating the Canadian Foods We Grow, Raise and Produce (Whitecap Books)
- Aimée Wimbush-Bourque, Brown Eggs and Jam Jars: Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites (Penguin Canada)
Regional/Cultural Cookbooks
- Derek and Chris Johns‚ True North: Canadian Cooking from Coast to Coast (HarperCollins)
- Craig Flinn, Out of New Nova Scotia Kitchens: Best-loved East Coast Dishes for Today (Formac Publishing)
- Chris Knight, One World Kitchen: The Cookbook (Touchwood Editions)
- Susan Musgrave, A Taste of Haida Gwaii: Food Gathering and Feasting at the Edge of the World (Whitecap)
- Noorbanu Nimji and Karen Anderson‚ A Spicy Touch: Family Favourites from Noorbanu Nimji’s Kitchen (A Spicy Touch Publishing)
Single-Subject Cookbooks
- Adam Hynam-Smith, Curbside: Modern Street Food From a Vagabond Chef (Whitecap Books)
- Bill Jones, The Deerholme Vegetable Cookbook (Touchwood)
- Signe Langford, Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden, with 100 Recipes (D&M)
- Jane Mundy, The Ocean Wise Cookbook 2: More Seafood Recipes That Are Good for the Planet (Whitecap)
- Victoria Walsh and Scott McCallum, A Field Guide to Canadian Cocktails (Appetite)
Health and Special Diet Cookbooks
- Mary Jo Eustace, Scared Wheatless: Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes That Won’t Make You Lose Your Mind (Whitecap)
- Patricia Green, Sweet Goodness: Unbelievably Delicious Gluten-Free Baking Recipes (Penguin Canada)
- Jennifer Houston and Ruth Tal‚ Super Fresh: Super Natural, Super Vibrant Vegan Recipes (Penguin Canada)
- Jessica Nadel, Superfoods 24/7: More Than 100 Easy and Inspired Recipes to Enjoy the World’s Most Nutritious Foods at Every Meal, Every Day. The Experiment (Thomas Allen & Son)
- Meghan Telpner, The UnDiet Cookbook: 130 Gluten-Free Recipes for a Healthy and Awesome Life (Appetite)
Food Blog