2019 Taste Canada Awards Gala

TASTE CANADA AWARDS GALA: OCTOBER 27, 2019, FAIRMONT ROYAL YORK, TORONTO

Taste Canada Awards / Les Lauréats des Saveurs du Canada has announced the 2019 Winners of the country’s only national, bilingual food writing awards. Fitting that these authors and their work are celebrated in October, which is National Cookbook Month. A champion of cookbook authors, Taste Canada inspires readers to discover delicious recipes and diverse food stories written from a Canadian perspective. Taste Canada is a not-for-profit founded in 1998. More than just recipes, cookbooks reveal Canada’s unique history, culture, and diversity.

“When we write about food, we are really writing about humanity and community; about love and death and biological imperatives; and about the powerful connections and similarities between us. Food writing has been as undervalued as the actual work of food preparation. Taste Canada is the only body in the country recognizing the importance of the work of food writers. Food stories are after all, the real stories of our lives,’ said Lindy Mechefske, author of Out of Old Ontario Kitchens, and Sir John’s Table: The Culinary Life and Times of Canada’s First Prime Minister (the 2019 and 2016 Taste Canada Gold Award Winners for Culinary Narratives respectively).

90 cookbooks entered. 20 Gold & Silver Winners.

This year, 90 cookbooks entered the competition and the shortlist announced earlier in the year narrowed the competition to a maximum of 5 entries per category. The 20 gold and silver award winners were revealed at the Taste Canada Awards Gala on Sunday, October 27th at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, co-hosted by Mairlyn Smith and Hubert Cormier.

2019 Hall of Fame Awards

The 2019 Hall of Fame Awards were also presented by the Culinary Historians of Canada. The award goes to authors of a stellar culinary book or body of work that has had a lasting impact on Canadian cuisine. The first award was presented to Naomi Duguid, a hugely successful food writer, photographer, journalist, teacher and world traveller. The second Hall of Fame award was posthumously given to Jessie Read (1905-1940), and accepted by her daughter, Heather-Ann Claggett. Read was a home economist in the 1930s, who wrote a popular column, “Three Meals a Day” that appeared in the Toronto Evening Telegram.

The annual Gala brings together writers, publishers, chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, industry, media and cookbook fans to promote a vibrant national conversation about food and the art and culture of culinary writing.

Special thanks to Michael Gozum Photography and Stephen Chu Photography for capturing the photos from the Taste Canada Gala Awards 2019.

Click to see the 2019 Taste Canada Gala Event Program