The Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards, in their ninth year, champion excellence in food and drink writing, publishing, broadcasting and photography.
The Awards were presented last evening by co-hosts television favourite Claudia Winkleman and celebrated chef Angela Hartnett at a special party at The Royal Exchange.
The winners were selected by an expert panel comprising some of the most talented figures in food and drink including Asma Khan, chef/restaurateur; Olly Smith, wine columnist and TV presenter; Rosie Birkett, food and cookery writer for The Sunday Times; Miguel Barclay, chef and author; Sandrae Lawrence, editor of The Cocktail Lovers Magazine and Peter McCombie MW, wine consultant and writer.
Winners included the ever-popular Tom Kerridge who scooped the Programme Award for the timely, critically-acclaimed Saving Britain’s Pubs by Bone Soup Productions.
The Judges’ Choice Award went to the doyenne of London’s dining scene, Fay Maschler, for her long-standing dedication to restaurant writing. Fay spent 48 years at the Evening Standard before taking on her latest role as a food writer for Tatler.
The Fortnum & Mason Special Award this year went to chef Larry Jayasekara who worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to feed the NHS. The Michelin-starred former head chef of Petrus led an army of chefs at Le Pont de la Tour, who together prepared over 1000 lunches a day for workers at University College Hospital.
Cumbrian farmer James Rebanks collected the Food Book for English Pastoral, his insightful and honest account of how he decided to farm in a more sustainable way. The book is a stirring history of family, loss and the countryside over three generations on a Lake District farm.
The winner of the Debut Food Book went to fellow Cumbrian, and Guardian food writer and restaurant critic Grace Dent. Hungry is her tender and hilarious account of her journey from 1980s Carlisle to the world of London restaurants, it is her charming memoir to family, food and chip butties.
The Cookery Book went to Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley for Falastin, a lavish compendium celebrating the recipes, stories and people of Palestinian food.
In the Debut Cookery Book category, pastry master and chef at the Holborn Dining Room collected the Award for his first book The Pie Room – a celebration of British pie classic sweet and savoury.
Food Writer went to Ruby Tandoh for work in Vittles, a food newsletter created at the start of the pandemic which has developed into growing global platform of food writing.
Georgina Hayden took the Cookery Writer Award for her work in Waitrose Food Magazine.
At the age of twenty-one Victoria James was named America’s youngest sommelier. Her memoir, Wine Girl, winner of the Drink Book is an unflinching account of life in New York’s glamourous, yet toxic, fine-dining world.
Debut Drink Book was won by bartender Cas Oh for his book Co-Specs, an indispensable A-Z guide to classic cocktails which took five years to create.
Rob Lawson took home the Photographer award for his series of sensual drinks images inspired by the world of fragrance.
Drink Writer went to Will Hawkes for work in Tonic Magazine and Pellicle, while Jimi Famurewa received the Restaurant Writer award for work in the Evening Standard’s ES magazine.
Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co won the Radio/Podcast Award for their Food Talks series.
Personality of the Year was won by James Martin, chef and host of ITV’s Saturday Morning show and Digital Creator of the Year went to recipe site Pinch of Nom. Both categories are chosen by the public where fans from across the country vote for their favourite foodies.
The line-up of guests included: Matt Tebbutt, Andi Oliver, Tom Parker-Bowles, Stanley Tucci and Felicity Blunt, Jack Monroe, Olly Smith, Asma Khan and many more.
Tom Athron, CEO of Fortnum & Mason, commented: “Fortnum & Mason has been an innovator in the world of food and drink for over 300 years, and we’re proud to play our part in supporting the unparalleled food and drink scene here in the UK.
“This year’s entries displayed an encyclopaedic depth of knowledge and the shortlist was particularly impressive for its dazzling diversity and reassuring quality. The winners are a testament to the strength of the writing and broadcasting on the subjects of food and drink in this country and it is our privilege to encourage such distinction in these media disciplines.”
2021 WINNERS AND SHORTLISTEES:
FOOD BOOK
- WINNER: English Pastoral: An Inheritance by James Rebanks, published by Allen Lane, Penguin Random House
- SHORTLIST: Red Sands: Reportage and Recipes Through Central Asia, from Hinterland to Heartland by Caroline Eden, published by Quadrille Publishing Ltd
- SHORTLIST: Loaf Story: A love-letter to bread, with recipes by Tim Hayward, published by Quadrille Publishing Ltd
DEBUT FOOD BOOK
- WINNER: Hungry by Grace Dent, published by Mudlark, Harper Collins
- SHORTLIST: Borough Market: Edible Histories by Mark Riddaway, published by Hodder & Stoughton
- SHORTLIST: The Food Almanac: Recipes and Stories for a Year at the Table by Miranda York, published by Pavilion Books
COOKERY BOOK
- WINNER: Falastin: A Cookbook by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley, published by Ebury Press
- SHORTLIST: Jikoni by Ravinder Bhogal, published by Bloomsbury Publishing
- SHORTLIST: Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules, published by Bloomsbury Publishing
- SHORTLIST: Fire, Smoke, Green: Vegetarian barbecue, smoking and grilling recipes by Martin Nordin, published by Hardie Grant
DEBUT COOKERY BOOK
- WINNER: The Pie Room by Calum Franklin, published by Bloomsbury Absolute
- SHORTLIST: Parwana: Recipes and stories from an Afghan kitchen by Durkhanai Ayubi, published by Murdoch Books
- SHORTLIST: The Rangoon Sisters: Recipes from our Burmese family kitchen by Amy Chung and Emily Chung, published by Ebury Press
DRINK BOOK
- WINNER: Wine Girl by Victoria James, published by Little, Brown Book Group / Fleet imprint
- SHORTLIST: How To Drink Without Drinking by Fiona Beckett, published by Kyle Books / Octopus
- SHORTLIST: Inside Bordeaux by Jane Anson, published by Berry Bros. & Rudd Press
DEBUT DRINK BOOK
- WINNER: CO SPECS: Recipes & Histories of Classic Cocktails by Cas Oh, published by Cazerac Publishing
- SHORTLIST: Which Wine When by Bert Blaize and Claire Strickett, published by Ebury Press
- SHORTLIST: Drink? by Professor David Nutt, published by Yellow Kite
FOOD WRITER
- WINNER: Ruby Tandoh for work in Vittles
- SHORTLIST: Yvonne Maxwell for work in Vittles
- SHORTLIST: Olivia Potts for work in Longreads.com and The Spectator
COOKERY WRITER
- WINNER: Georgina Hayden for work in Waitrose Food Magazine
- SHORTLIST: Diana Henry for work in The Telegraph’s Stella magazine
- SHORTLIST: Meera Sodha for work in The Guardian Feast
DRINK WRITER
- WINNER: Will Hawkes for work in Pellicle Magazine and Tonic Magazine
- SHORTLIST: Fiona Beckett for work in The Guardian Feast
- SHORTLIST: Hamish Smith for work in CLASS Magazine
RESTAURANT WRITER
- WINNER: Jimi Famurewa for work in Evening Standard ES Magazine
- SHORTLIST: Tania Ballantine for work in Time Out London
- SHORTLIST: Grace Dent for work in The Guardian Feast
PROGRAMME
- WINNER: Saving Britain’s Pubs with Tom Kerridge, Bone Soup Productions
- SHORTLIST: Great British Menu, Optomen Television Ltd
- SHORTLIST: Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat, BBC Studios Factual Entertainment
RADIO OR PODCAST
- WINNER: Honey & Co: The Food Talks, Presenters: Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich. Producer: Miranda Hinkley
- SHORTLIST: Root + Bone Podcast, Presenter: Tim Wild. Producer: Thomas Duncan
- SHORTLIST: The Olive Magazine Podcast, Presenter: Janine Ratcliffe. Producer: Ben Youatt
PHOTOGRAPHER
- WINNER: Rob Lawson
- SHORTLIST: John Carey
- SHORTLIST: Nassima Rothacker
PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
WINNER: James Martin
DIGITAL CREATOR
WINNER: Pinch of Nom
JUDGES’ CHOICE AWARD
FAY MASCHLER
FORTNUM & MASON SPECIAL AWARD
LARRY JAYASEKARA
Our congratulations to all the winners and all who made the shortlists, recognising their excellence in food and drink writing, publishing, broadcasting and photography.
News from the hospitality and catering industry is also being featured extensively in our Facebook and twitter social media accounts with the opportunity to engage with others in hospitality and share your views.
Hospitality & Catering News: Fortnum & Mason 2021 Food and Drink Award Winners announced. – 10 September 2021 – Fortnum & Mason 2021 Food and Drink Award Winners announced.
Copyright: All content in Hospitality & Catering News is protected by copyright
