UK Guild of Food Writers announces 2024 shortlist

The UK Guild of Food Writers announced the shortlist for its annual Awards in food writing and broadcasting. The winners will be revealed at a ceremony at the Royal Institution in London on Wednesday, 12 June. The awards highlight emerging voices as well as the industry’s best-known food writers and broadcasters.

Without further ado, the First Book Award nominees include:

• The Farm Table by Julius Roberts
• Rice Table: Korean Recipes and Stories to Feed the Soul by Su Scott,
• Painting the Plate: 52 Recipes Inspired by Great Works of Art from Mark Rothko, Frida Kahlo, and Many More by Felicity Souter.

In the Food Book Category, the books vying for top honors are:

• Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper by Neil Buttery
• Hungry Heart: A Story of Food and Love by Clare Finney
• Food of the Cods: How Fish and Chips Made Britain by Daniel Gray (which was also on the shortlist for the Fortnum & Mason Food Awards).

In the Food Magazine or Section Award, the nominees are The Guardian Feast, Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK), and Pellicle. The Food Writing Award nominees are Xanthe Clay for work published in The Telegraph, Tim Hayward for work published in the Financial Times, and Rachel Roddy for work published in The Guardian. The Recipe Writing Award shortlist includes Martha Collison for work published in Waitrose Weekend, Melek Erdal for work published in Vittles and The Guardian, and Mark Hix for work published in The Telegraph Magazine.

Moving on to the General Cookbook category, the nominees are:

• The Secret of Cooking: Recipes for an Easier Life in the Kitchen by Bee Wilson
• Table Full of Love: Recipes to Comfort, Seduce, Celebrate & Everything Else In Between by Skye McAlpine
• Winter Wellness: Nourishing recipes to keep you healthy when it’s cold by Rachel de Thample

The Restaurant Writing Award shortlist sees Grace Dent for work in The Guardian Feast pitted against Tim Hayward for work in the Financial Times and Jonathan Nunn for work in Vittles. The Self-Published Writing Award nominees include Mark Diacono for work published on Substack, Sam Lomas for work published through Mailchimp, and Mike Warner for work published on Scribehound.

For the International or Regional Cookbook award, the books vying for top honors are:

• Frontieres: Food and Cooking from the French Borderlands by Alex Jackson (also a nominee for a Fortnum & Mason Award)
• A Splash of Soy: Everyday Food from Asia by Lara Lee
• Brutto: A (Simple) Florentine Cookbook by Russell Norman

In the Specialist or Single Subject Cookbook category, nominees include:

• Honey: Recipes from a Beekeeper’s Kitchen by Amy Newsome
• Of Cabbages & Kimchi: A Practical Guide to the World of Fermented Food by James Read
• Salt and the Art of Seasoning: from Curing to Charring and Baking to Brining, Techniques and Recipes to Help You Achieve Extraordinary Flavours by James Strawbridge.

The Drinks Writing Award nominees are Molly Codyre for work published in Foodism, Joel Harrison for work published in Club Oenologique Magazine, and Henry Jeffreys for work published in The Critic Magazine. The Drinks Books Award contenders are:

• Slow Drinks: a Field Guide to Foraging and Fermenting Seasonal Drinks by Danny Childs
• Vines In A Cold Climate: The People Behind the English Wine Revolution by Henry Jeffreys
• A Passion for Whisky: How the Tiny Scottish Island of Islay Creates Malts that Captivate the World by Ian Wisniewski