Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
News Release
September 11, 2003
U of G co-hosting National Culinary Book Awards
The University of Guelph, known for its research and innovation in food culture, is co-hosting Cuisine Canada's National Culinary Book Award event Sept. 22 at the Toronto Hilton. The shortlist for the annual event has just been announced and highlights the range and expertise of Canadian cookbook authors, publishers and food culture.
The winning books will enter the U of G library's culinary archives – the most complete collection of Canadian cookbooks in the world. It contains 5,000 volumes ranging from the 17th to the 20th centuries and also contains culinary books from other countries, including Britain, the United States, France and Holland.
"We are thrilled to be involved in the sixth annual National Culinary Book Awards," said chief librarian Michael Ridley. "Cookbooks are wonderful historical documents — they give us a window into the homes of Canadians."
Cuisine Canada, a food-promoting organization that links people in the food industry from farmers and nutritionists to chefs and restaurateurs, was founded by U of G friend and culinary expert Anita Stewart. The book awards are given in three categories to both English and French-language books: Canadian Food Culture Award, Best Cookbook Award and Best Special Interest Award.
The shortlist for the Best English Cookbook is Double Dishing: The Dishing Women Entertain, a book put together by a group of 10 female chefs from Calgary; Home for Dinner, Lucy Waverman's take on quick-to-prepare foods; Out to Brunch, Donna Dooher and Claire Stubbs' recreation of Toronto's Mildred Pierce Restaurant brunch experience; Simply Bishop's: Easy Seasonal Recipes by Vancouver restaurateurs John Bishop and Dennis Green; Wanda's Pie in the Sky, Wanda Beaver's collection of baked goods with step-by-step directions; and Clueless About Wine, Richard Kitowski and Jocelyn Klemm's guide for the novice wine drinker.
Four books were shortlisted for the Canadian Food Culture Award, given to books that best illustrate the promotion of Canadian food culture and food products. Icebergs and Belugas by Helen Webber and Marie Woolsey contains recipes and stories about how women cope in the North. The Loving Spoonfuls Cookbook by Carol Sevitt shares stories of grandmothers who came to Canada from all over the world with their favourite traditional recipes. Simple Pleasures from Our Maritime Kitchens by Julie Watson is an account of Atlantic Canada's culinary heritage. In A Year in Niagara, Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh recounts her experiences and shares recipes of the region's food and wine.
The shortlisted French-language culinary books are Cuisine réconfort by Anne Gardon, À table, les enfants! by Marie Breton and Isabelle Emond; Sainplement bon! Recettes et trucs pour manger bien et bon, by Catherine Gosselin and Carole Chatelois of the Fédération des producteurs de volailles du Québec; Gibier à poil et à plume by Jean-Paul Grappe, and in the special interest category: Le nouveau guide des vins d'Italie by Jacques Orhon.
The awards are sponsored by KitchenAid and the Canadian Tourism Commission. For more information, visit Cuisine Canada's Web site, www.cuisinecanada.ca.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt (519) 824-4120, Ext. 53338, or Rachelle Cooper, (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982.
