Behind the Scenes of the Taste Canada Awards

By Jo-Anne Lauzer June 16, 2023

As a Taste Canada judge, I was always excited for the spring season as it meant that I would soon receive my box of cookbooks—and the more books that were in my category, the more excited I would be. So imagine my bliss, now as the Chair of the Awards Committee, when hundreds of books started to arrive daily in cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes! 

Jennifer MacKenzie, the previous Chair for the past nine years, always made it look so easy. Her attention to detail and fervent commitment to maintaining the integrity of the process ensured that the judging went smoothly every year. As a judge, however, I had no idea of what was going on behind the scenes. I was clear about my role and the specific criteria for each round of the judging process, but that was it. My main point of contact was the volunteer category coordinator who ensured that I stayed on track and on time, while always referring back to the stringent judging criteria and process.

What I didn’t know was how much work went in to preparing for the awards process. Turns out it is actually a hectic year-long process, involving an incredibly talented and passionate team of staff, board members and volunteers.

The first step starts with a deep dive into all Canadian culinary books published (including self-published books) the previous year and updating the publisher database. Essentially—making the list and checking it twice to ensure that any new publishers are included and all the contact details are current. The list is also used to make sure that every Canadian culinary book published that year has the opportunity to be considered for an award. 

Next, the Taste Canada team meets to work out a timeline for the awards. It is important that there is enough time for each step of the judging process as well as for the marketing team to do their updates and announcements. The website is updated with the current year’s process and forms for the online submission process, which includes five categories for both English and French books. Emails are sent to the entire publisher database (capturing self-published books as well) inviting them to submit their books for the Taste Canada Awards.

While submissions come in, the category coordinators for both English and French books come together and form a judge selection committee. The goal is to have a diverse group of judges from across Canada in each category who are knowledgeable and passionate about the process. Once that list is finalized, the coordinators reach out to confirm each judge’s participation. All judges and category coordinators must review and sign a conflict of interest policy document and commit to the confidential judging process and timeline. Judges and coordinators are also rotated every few years to different categories and all judges remain anonymous during the current year’s judging process.

At this point, the publishers fill in the online submission forms and provide seven copies of each book. The submissions are double-checked to ensure that they are placed in the proper category and that all the details are correct. After the submission deadline closes, the books are repackaged by category and mailed to the coordinators and judges…many of whom are like how I was…eagerly awaiting their books to get started. A formal announcement, introducing all book submissions, is made on Taste Canada’s website, their various social media platforms and through their vast network.

Judges receive very specific judging criteria that varies for each category and have clear instructions around testing recipes. At the end of each round, which lasts about a month, scores and comments are reviewed then tallied, noting any discrepancies.

The number of books are eventually narrowed down to the top five in each language and category, creating the official shortlist for French and English books. The marketing team then does their magic and makes the official shortlist announcement through a comprehensive marketing campaign. At the same time, I reach out to congratulate the authors and publishers while also inviting them to attend the award presentation in person.  Each shortlisted title also has access to the official shortlist book seals for that year (print and digital), which help to further celebrate and acknowledge all of their hard work with a well-earned badge of honour that they can proudly display on their books.

For the final round of judging, judges test recipes for all categories except for the culinary narratives. Following specific guidelines, each book and recipe is scored and judges provide detailed comments on all aspects of the books.

During this time, the Taste Canada Team is busy making final arrangements for the fall in-person event to celebrate and announce the gold and silver winners in each category for both languages. All submitted authors and publishers are encouraged to attend, as it is a wonderful opportunity to network with fellow writers, publishers, agents and other industry influencers. 

Once all the results are submitted, the category coordinators review and summarize the scores and comments; again ensuring that there are no conflicts or discrepancies. Final results are discussed with the Chair and the winners are officially (and confidentially) selected. 

The final list of the winners is then shared with the Taste Canada Team, who also keep the results confidential until the official announcement is made at the fall awards ceremony. This year the Taste Canada Soirée event will be held on October 30th in Toronto where Gold and Silver winners will be presented with their trophies. 

From there, our marketing team launches a comprehensive and collaborative promotional campaign to acknowledge and celebrate the winners and their books. Another set of book seals is made available to all the winning titles, a perfect way for authors and publishers to “toot their horns” and let everyone know that their book stood out amongst Canada’s best culinary authors.

When the dust settles, the process starts all over again for the next year. And, we all eagerly wait to dive into the next round of highly anticipated Canadian cookbooks.

Stay tuned for more information and how to purchase tickets for the 2023 Taste Canada Soirée!