BC Cookbooks and Cookbook Authors Making History in TASTE Canada Cookbook Awards
TASTE Canada is a national not-for-profit that aims to inspire readers to discover delicious recipes and diverse food stories written from a Canadian perspective.[i] Each year they host the Canada’s Cookbook Awards: A champion of Canadian cookbook authors. Awards are given in the following categories:
- Culinary Narratives – a food- or beverage-related narrative written by a Canadian author (or authors) that is not primarily a recipe book. This category may include books exploring culinary history, politics, social awareness, memoir or biography, all relating to food, and may include some representative recipes.
- General Cookbooks – cookbook, written by a Canadian author (or authors), which covers a general range of topics, offering a variety of options to the Canadian cook.
- Regional / Cultural Cookbooks – best cookbook written by a Canadian author (or authors), which best exemplifies the cooking of a specific terroir or region in Canada, or, the cooking of a specific ethnic group (in terms of race, nationality, or religious heritage) in Canada or around the world.
- Single-Subject Cookbooks – cookbook featuring a single topic in the culinary world and includes books about a specific food, beverage, cooking method, meal and/or target a very specific audience.
- Health and Special Diet Cookbooks – features a topic related to health and/or special diets and includes at least 50% of the book dedicated to recipes.
Since its inception in 2000, British Columbians have been making food history. Here is a list of all the past winners about the province of British Columbia and/or by BC authors[ii]:
| Year | Category | Title | Rank |
| 2000 | General Cookbooks | John Bishop Cooking at My House (Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver) | Bronze |
| 2001 | Canadian Culinary Culture | Diane Clement’s Zest for Life (Raincoast Books, Vancouver) | Bronze |
| 2002 | General | Rebar Modern food cookbook by Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz (Big Ideas Publishing Inc, Victoria, B.C.) | Silver |
| 2004 | Special Interest | British Columbia Wine Country by John Schreiner (Whitecap Books Ltd., Vancouver) | Silver |
| 2004 | Canadian Culture | An Edible Journey: Exploring the Islands’ Fine Food, Farms and Vineyards by Elizabeth Levinson (TouchWood Editions Ltd., Victoria , British Columbia) | Gold
(also Bronze in Special Interest) |
| 2004 | General | Chef’s Salad by Bill Jones (Whitecap Books Ltd., Vancouver) | Bronze |
| 2006 | Special Interest | Laughing with My Mouth Full: Tales from a Gulf Islands Kitchen by Pam Freir (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Toronto) | Gold |
| 2006 | Canadian Culinary Culture | Chow: From China to Canada; Memories of Food + Family by Janice Wong (Whitecap Books, Vancouver) | Gold |
| 2006 | General Cookbooks | DiscCookery by Jurgen Gothe (Whitecap Books, Vancouver) | Silver |
| 2007 | General Cookbooks | Vij’s: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine by Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala (Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., Vancouver) | Gold |
| 2008 | Canadian Culinary Culture | Menus from an Orchard Table: Celebrating the Food and Wine of the Okanagan by Heidi Noble (Whitecap Books Ltd., North Vancouver) | Silver |
| 2008 | Special Interest | The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon (Random House Canada, Toronto) | Silver
|
| 2008 | General | Fresh: Seasonal Recipes Made with Local Foods by John Bishop and Dennis Green (Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver) | Gold |
| 2010 | Culinary Narratives | Vancouver Cooks 2 by Chefs’ Table Society of British Columbia (Douglas and McIntyre Publishers, Vancouver) | Gold |
| 2011 | General | Vij’s at Home: Relax, Honey by Meeru Dhalwala and Vikram Vij (Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver) | Silver |
| 2013 | Culinary Narratives | French Kids Eat Everything (And Yours Can Too) by Karen Le Billon (Harper Collins Publishers). | Gold |
| 2013 | Single-Subject Cookbooks | The Book of Kale: The Easy-to-Grow Superfood; 80+ Recipes by Hanna, Sharon. (Harbour Publishing) | Gold |
| 2015 | Regional / Cultural Cookbooks | The SoBo Cookbook: Recipes from the Tofino Restaurant at the End of the Canadian Road, by Lisa Ahier and Andrew Morrison (Appetite by Random House, Vancouver) | Gold |
| 2016 | Regional / Cultural Cookbooks | A Taste of Haida Gwaii: Food Gathering and Feasting at the Edge of the World, by Susan Musgrave (Whitecap Books, Vancouver) | Gold |
| 2015 | Single Subject Cookbooks | The Ocean Wise Cookbook 2: More Seafood Recipes That Are Good for the Planet, by Jane Munday, Vancouver Aquarium (Whitecap Books, Vancouver) | Gold |
| 2017 | Culinary Narratives | Food Artisans of the Okanagan. By Jennifer Cockrall-King. (TouchWood Editions, Victoria) | Gold |
| 2017 | General | Earls The Cookbook: Eat a Little, Eat a Lot. 110 of Your Favourite Recipes, by Jim Southerland (Appetite by Random House, Vancouver) | Silver |
| 2018 | Regional/Cultural Cookbooks | The Okanagan Table: The Art of Everyday Home Cooking, by Rod Butters. (Figure 1, Vancouver) | Silver |
| 2018 | Culinary Narratives | Vij. By Vij Vikram. (Penguin Canada, Toronto) | Gold |
For the 2019 TASTE awards two Cookbooks with BC connections are on the Shortlist:
Seven Seasons on Stowel Lake Farm – cover
Seven Seasons on Stowel Lake Farm: Stories and Recipes that Nourish Community by Jennifer Lloyd-Karr, Elizabeth Young, Lisa Lloyd and Haidee Hart, Page Two Strategies/Raincoast Books, Richmond
Told through the voices of four women at the heart of a stunning sustainable organic farm located on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, Seven Seasons on Stowel Lake Farm is a multi-layered, evocative exploration of life on a sustainable organic farm. From harvest dinners to Thursday work parties, looking after free-range children to handling the summer hay bailing, planting early seeds to celebrating the New Year, each experience offers a meaningful celebration of people working and living together on the land.
Wickaninnish Cookbook is shortlisted for Taste Canada Award.
The Wickaninnish Cookbook by Joanne Sasvari, Appetite by Random House, Vancouver
Perched between the majestic old-growth forests of Tofino and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, is the Wickaninnish Inn. Memorable recipes from the restaurant are coupled with signature recipes from current and former chefs combine cutting edge techniques with fresh, seasonal ingredients, to create a distinctly contemporary, west coast cookbook.
The winners will be announced at the 2019 Taste Canada Awards Gala held at the historic Fairmont Royal York in Toronto on Sun, Oct 27, 2019.
[ii] Summarized from https://tastecanada.org/winners/
