2020 André Simon Food and Drink book awards

Cookbook award season has launched with the March 3 announcement of the André Simon Food and Drink book awards for 2020. Simon was the charismatic leader of the English wine trade for almost all of the first half of the 20th century, and the grand old man of literate connoisseurship for a further 20 years. In 66 years of authorship, he wrote a whopping 104 books. For 33 years he was one of London’s leading champagne shippers; for the same number of years the active president of the Wine & Food Society. His opus A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy sold an unprecedented 100,000 copies. The awards presented by the André Simon Memorial Fund honor his legacy.

As the title of the awards suggests, the selections pay special attention to the world of drink books, an often underappreciated category. When you consider the complexity of the wine world, and how difficult it can be to get the balance of flavors right in a cocktail, having good drink books is vital to understanding these nuanced areas. Nick Lander, Chair of the André Simon Memorial Fund, commented on the 2020 awards: “This year’s food and drink winners take us on an exciting journey around the world from the comfort of our own kitchens.”

This year’s winners include Caroline Eden, who took home the Food Award with Red Sands: Reportage and Recipes Through Central Asia, from Hinterland to Heartland, her fantastic follow up to the award-winning Black Sea. The Drink Award went to Max Allen’s Intoxicating: Ten Drinks That Shaped Australia, a personal journey through Australia’s colorful and complex drinking history.

Harold McGee received the Special Commendation for his book Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells, which perfectly bridges the worlds of food and drink. The John Avery Award was given to Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate by Mark Kurlansky, another of the author’s fascinating deep dives into a single subject.

You can see all of the winners of this year’s award winners, including the shortlist of books, whittled down from a field of 150, at the EYB 2020 André Simon Food and Drink book awards page.