Taste Canada Award winners for 2016

I submitted my Blog for Consideration to the Taste Canada Awards and although I didn't make it to the short list I was invited to attend the Gala Awards presentation.  This is my 3rd year attending the Awards but it's the 19th year of  the Taste Canada Gala Awards.

The competition honours Canada’s culinary writers. This year they received 150 submissions and included 96 books and 54 food blogs.  

Winners were chosen in both official languages and across six categories, including general cookbooks, culinary narratives, and in the new category of health and special diet cookbooks.

I was there to take photos on the red carpet of all the nominated attendees.  Here are just a few of them.

Twenty-two winners received awards.  Mary Ito from CBC's Fresh Air was the host for the evening and BBQ Master Ted Reader was the pinch hitter to introduce the awards filling in for Donna Dooher the National Chair.

This is a complete list of this year’s winners:

Culinary Narratives

GOLD

Mechefske, Lindy. Sir John’s Table: The Culinary Life and Times of Canada’s First Prime Minister. Goose Lane Editions, Fredericton

SILVER

Alford, Jeffrey. Chicken in the Mango Tree: Food and Life in a Thai-Khmer Village. Douglas & McIntyre, Madeira Park

General Cookbooks

GOLD

Canadian Living Test Kitchen. Canadian Living: The Ultimate Cookbook. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

SILVER

O’Brady, Tara. Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Every Day. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

Regional/Cultural Cookbooks

GOLD

Musgrave, Susan. Taste of Haida Gwaii: Food Gathering and Feasting at the Edge of the World. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

SILVER

Nimji, Noorbanu and Karen Anderson. A Spicy Touch: Family Favourites from Noorbanu Nimji’s Kitchen. A Spicy Touch Publishing (Canada) Inc., Calgary

Single-Subject Cookbooks

GOLD

Mundy, Jane. The Ocean Wise Cookbook 2: More Seafood Recipes That Are Good for the Planet. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

SILVER

Walsh, Victoria and Scott McCallum. Field Guide to Canadian Cocktails. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

Health and Special Diet Cookbooks

GOLD

Telpner, Meghan. The UnDiet Cookbook: 130 Gluten-Free Recipes for a Healthy and Awesome Life. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

SILVER

Eustace, Mary Jo. Scared Wheatless: Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes That Won’t Make You Lose Your Mind. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

Food Blog

GOLD

In Pursuit of More, Shira McDermott  www.inpursuitofmore.com       

The always hilarious Home Economist Mairlyn Smith rocked the red carpet but even though all of the boggers were rooting for her she didn't win in her category.  Canadian Living took that award.   

The French language winners are:

Les Narrations Culinaires

GOLD

Chartier, François. L’essential de Chartier. Les Éditions de Presse, Montréal

SILVER

Dô, Sylvie. L’Épicerie: Le plaisir de faire les bons choix. Les Éditions Caractère, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Générale

GOLD

Robitaille, Josée. C’est l’hiver! Les éditions de la Carotte blanche, Montréal

SILVER

Coup de Pouce, St-Germain, Claudine. Cuisiner pour une semaine, un mois, un an. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Régionale et Culturelle

GOLD

Loureiro, Helena. La cuisine d’Helena: 80 recettes portugaises pour ensoleiller votre table. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

SILVER

Di Domenico, Maria. Fine cuisine italienne des Abruzzes. Les Éditions Glénat Québec, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Sujet Unique

GOLD

Vézina, Daniel. La cuisine réfléchie: Bien manger sans gaspiller. Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal

SILVER

Ricardo. Mon premier livre de recettes. Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal

Santé et Diète Particulière

GOLD

Côté, Stéphanie et Philippe Grand. Nutrition Sportive: 21 jours de menus. Modus Vivendi, Montréal

SILVER

Michaud, Eliane. Naturellement sucré: 100 desserts à base de sucres naturels. Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur, Laval

Blogue Culinaire

GOLD

The Green Life, Sophie Bourdon  www.thegreenlife.ca

After the Awards were presented the party moved upstairs for some amazing food by Fidel Gastro, Dufflet, Ted Reader, SoCo, Bonnie Gordon Cakes, Succulent Chocolates and more.

It was a super fun night and 3 years later I knew so many more people than I did the first year I attended and really enjoyed hanging out with my fellow bloggers now that there is a new Blog Category.  My goal is to keep improving my Blog and enter again next year.  There are so many fantastic bloggers that my chances are slim but I will keep trying anyway because you never know.

I hope to be there again next year for more fun.

Fore more info about Taste Canada visit their website:  www.tastecanada.org