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Winners announced for 2021 André Simon Awards
The 2021 André Simon Food & Drink Book Awards took place last night via a virtual Zoom ceremony, with the shortlist of publications whittled down to just four winners by judges Rose Murray Brown MW and Yemisi Aribisala.
The judging panel was guided by this year’s independent assessors: author, artist and former John Avery winner, Yemisi Aribisala for food books and Master of Wine Rose Murray Brown for drink books. The shortlist of seven food books and four drinks books was whittled down to four winners in total.
Baking with Fortitude: Sourdough Cakes and Bakes by Fortitude Bakehouse’s Dee Rettali has won this year’s 2021 Food Award. Rettali founded Patisserie Organic in 1998, and her latest book explores craft-baking with the use of groundbreaking techniques to highlight natural flavours.
Food assessor Yemisi Aribisala said: “You are carried along with the thrill that Baking With Fortitude is going to shake the foundations and create something fresh. It delivers marvelously. Dee Rettali is artist, artisan, iconoclast and author of a remarkable book that people will undoubtedly celebrate and love for many years to come. From Ireland to Morocco to London and the depths of fermented flavours and unique pairings of essence and spice, Baking with Fortitude is comprehensively gorgeous.”
Winner of this year’s Drink Award was Inside Burgundy: The vineyards, the wine and the people (Second Edition).
This comes as a second win for author Jasper Morris MW, who previously won an André Simon award in 2010 with the first edition of Inside Burgundy.
Morris has been a Master of Wine since 1985, following a career as a wine merchant and author.
He has been based in Burgundy since the 1990s, allowing him to visit hundreds of vineyards and cellars throughout the year and build personal relationships with the region’s winemakers.
This second edition spans 800 pages, with expanded coverage of over 1,200 vineyards, 300 wine villages and 700 domaines.
Rose Murray Brown MW, remarked: “For Burgundy lovers there is nothing comparable anywhere in the world of publishing. This seminal work is a highly impressive, extremely well-produced reference book and the most authoritative guide to this fragmented region.
“Morris now lives in Burgundy – and is part of the wine community experiencing its ups and downs. His understanding and knowledge of the region is unsurpassed and this book really takes us ‘inside’ Burgundy offering us his own personal astute view of this celebrated region.
“With such high prices from leading premier and grand crus, Morris also guides us to ‘beautifully-made wines from less expensive appellations throughout the region’.”
The Special Commendation was awarded to Dan Saladino for Eating to Extinction, and first-time author Amanda Barnes won the John Avery Award for her book The South America Wine Guide.
In collaboration with over 60 regional specialists, The South America Wine Guide details over 70 wine regions and maps out 40 wine regions — many of which have never before been mapped or documented in the English-language.
André Simon Food & Drink Book Awards 2021 winners:
Food award: Dee Rettali – Baking with Fortitude – Bloomsbury Publishing
Drink Award: Jasper Morris MW – Inside Burgundy (Second Edition) – Berry Bros. & Rudd Press
Special Commendation: Dan Saladino – Eating to Extinction – Jonathan Cape
John Avery Award: Amanda Barnes – The South America Wine Guide – The South America Wine Guide