Foodies, media and friends gathered at Pangaea on Monday June 22nd for a party thrown by the Women's Culinary Network and The Cookbook Store to honour authors Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid & Jeffrey Alford(who alas could not attend), for their books, Fat and Beyond the Great Wall.
This Spring these local Toronto authors took top prizes in their respective categories from the prestigious International Assoc. of Culinary Professionals and the James Beard Foundation Book Awards. The Beards are The Oscars of the food community, I kid you not, right down to the black tie and a who's who of chefs, tv personalities, writers and probably the best stand up food afterwards!
Naomi & Jeff's latest book Beyond the Great Wall swept both awards from each organization as did Jennifer's book Fat. Not only is this a great accomplishment in one year to have two Toronto authors so decorated, but Jennifer's book also won Cookbook of the Year from the Beard Foundation.
On hand to speak were Bonnie Stern on behalf of Beard Foundation, Dana McCauley (IACP), Anne Collins (publisher - Random House Canada), and Doug Pepper (President of McClelland and Stewart), as well as Chef Martin Kouprie of Pangaea. Needless to say Alison had a few words as did Nettie Cronish of WCN before raising a glass to toast the honorees. A great time was had by all and hopefully there will be lots of opportunity to honour Canadian food writing in the future.
L-R: Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid, Alison Fryer, Nettie Cronish, Doug Pepper, Anne Collins
L-R: Bonnie Stern, Nettie Cronish, Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid
L-R: Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid, Alison Fryer
L-R: Anne Collins, Nettie Cronish, Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid, Doug Pepper, Alison Fryer