ON THE NIGHT
Who won the coveted Glenfiddich Food & Drink Awards?
London’s scene-making sketch was the setting last night (14th May 2007) for the 37th annual Glenfiddich Food & Drink Awards. Such is the lure of the “foodie Oscars” that some of the capital’s finest chefs were once more seduced away from their kitchens to attend, with Tom Aikens, Raymond Blanc, Heston Blumenthal, Ruth Rogers, Rose Gray and Giorgio Locatelli amongst them. Master of Ceremonies Tim Atkin (one of the industry’s best known Masters of Wine) entertained and enlightened the food and drink world’s luminaries throughout the evening, while Glenfiddich Apple and Glenfiddich Solera Reserve cocktails got the party started in stylish fashion.
Heston Blumenthal, whose restaurant, The Fat Duck, was recently voted number two in the UK, beat off stiff competition from Clarissa Dickson-Wright and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to pick up the TV prize for his BBC 2 series, In Search of Perfection. “Weird, but wonderful,” was the judges’ approving assessment, “it’s not exactly the kind of food that you’d cook in your own kitchen, but Heston’s passion for pushing the boundaries of culinary and scientific exploration makes it exciting, entertaining stuff.” Heston’s boundless energy and charisma also won him the GQ/Glenfiddich Personality of the Year award.
Later that night, the BBC went on to triumph in a second category, with BBC Radio 4’s The Jungle winning the Radio award for Sheila Dillon’s look at the history of meat production in Chicago. The Food Programme special was inspired by (and took its name from) Upton Sinclair’s seminal book, written 100 years ago, exposing the appalling working conditions in the city’s meat factories and the exploitation of immigrant labour.
London’s best-looking Italian chef, Giorgio Locatelli, won the Food Book for his beautiful and nostalgic look at the cuisine of his native land, Made in Italy: Food & Stories, written with Sheila Keating. The book combines old Locatelli family stories and recipes with contemporary dishes from his celebrated London restaurants, capturing the authentic tastes of Italy, especially his native Lombardy.
Clarissa Hyman’s wickedly delicious articles for the Financial Times, Whipped Cream Fantasy and The Secret Ingredient, won her the Food Writer award, while Elisabeth Luard, in addition to scooping the much-coveted Glenfiddich Trophy, was named best Cookery Writer for her recipes in The Oldie. Elisabeth’s seemingly effortless style of writing, self-drawn illustrations and understanding of the way in which ordinary people’s cooking reflects their history, culture and everyday life, makes her one of the most individual and distinctive food writers of all time.
The much-coveted Restaurant Critic prize went this year (as it did in 2005) to Terry Durack for his honest, enlightening and witty accounts of his culinary encounters at restaurants across the country for the Independent on Sunday Review. (Terry is well known and respected for choosing to pay his way at restaurants he really wants to go to, rather than accepting PR freebies.)
The Drink Book award was presented to Philip Williamson and David Moore for their indispensable guide to wine, Wine Behind The Label, while last year’s winning author, Jamie Goode, won best Wine Writer this year for his work in World of Wine and Harpers. The many hours Simon Difford put in propping up bars both in the UK and abroad (all in the name of research, of course) paid off handsomely as he was named best Drinks/Bar Writer for diffordsguide to Cocktails #5.4 Liquor & City Drinking.
Sublime shots of Central and Eastern European street markets, homes, kitchens, farms and patisseries, as featured in Silvena Rowe’s book, Feasts, won Jonathan Lovekin the Photography prize, while Alastair Gilmour’s homage to the joys of ale in The Newcastle Journal saw him named best Regional Writer.
This year’s Glenfiddich Independent Spirit Award, which recognises a piece of work, individual or campaign making an outstanding contribution towards widening the understanding and appreciation of food and drink in Britain, was presented by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to Myrtle Allen, doyenne of Ballymaloe House in Ireland.
Winners were presented with a special bottling of Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky and a cheque for £1,000. From among the category winners the judges select one outstanding candidate to receive The Glenfiddich Trophy (to be held for one year) along with a further £3,000 and a bottle of Glenfiddich 30 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky.