Meet the 2018 IACP Cookbook Award nominees

Yesterday the International Association of Culinary Professionals, which is celebring its fortieth anniversary, announced the nominees for its 2018 Cookbook Awards, plus finalists for its Digital Media and Food Writing Awards as well. 

You’re sure to recognize many of the titles on the cookbook list as they were on several of the “best of” lists we compiled late last year. Leading the charge with nominations is the excellent Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat by Samin Nosrat, which is competing in three categories: American, Chefs and Restaurants, and the Julia Child First Book Award.

In addition to the honor of winning an award with Julia Child’s name on it, this year the IACP, with sponsorship from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, will be providing the winner of the Julia Child First Book award with a $5,000 grant. Samin’s book is pitted against Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking by Bonnie Frumkin Morales and Deena Prichep and Bread Toast Crumbs by Alexandra Stafford.

The two most popular books (judged by number of Member Bookshelves) among the nominees are Dinner: Changing the Game by Melissa Clark (competing in the General category) and Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (in the Baking section). Dinner: Changing the Game is on 838 Bookshelves while Sweet (counting all editions of the book) is right behind with 820 Bookshelves. 

The General category will be one to watch, as Melissa Clark’s book is up against the highly regarded Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden and Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating by Gail Simmons. The Culinary Travel category has some interesting titles this year:  Joan Nathan’s King Solomon’s Table (which is also nominated in the International category), Acid Trip: Travels in the World of Vinegar by Michael Harlan Turkell, and Tasting Georgia: A Food and Wine Journey in the Caucasus by Carla Capalbo.

Another book worth noting is American Seafood: Heritage, Culture & Cookery From Sea to Shining Sea by Barton Seaver. It is nominated in two categories that usually do not have much crossover, Food Matters and Reference/Technical. You can see the complete list of nominees on our IACP 2018 nominee page, and read more about the awards themselves on the IACP website. Good luck to all of the finalists!