Brazil Scores at Gourmand World Cookbook Awards (again)

Every year since 1995, the best books, worldwide, about food and gastronomy have been honored at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. The 2012 awards were announced recently in Paris at a ceremony held in the famous Folies Bergère theatre, and Brazilian authors and publishers took home a number of awards, including first prize in the prestigious Food Literature category. We'll feature some of these winners and publish some of their recipes in future posts at Flavors of Brazil (some we've already covered), but for now, here's a listing of the books and authors, and the awards they were given.

Food Literature - 1st place
O Ganso Marisco (The Seafood Goose)
Breno Lerner, Author
Melhoramentos, Publisher

Photography - 1st place
Saveurs du Brésil (Flavors of Brazil (sound familiar?))
Sérgio Coimbra, Author
Studio Coimbra, Publisher

Desserts - 2nd place
Confeitaria Nacional (Brazilian Confectionary)
Luíz Farias, Author
Ilma, Publisher

Vegetarian - 2nd place
A Cozinha Vegetariana (The Vegetarian Kitchen)
Astrid Pfeiffer, Author
Alaude, Publisher

Fund-raising or Charity, Latin America - 2nd Place
Gourmet & Sustentável (Gourmet and Sustainable)
ONG Banco de Alimentos, Authors
Cook Lovers, Publisher

Spirits - 3rd Place
A Verdadeira História da Cachaça (The True History of Cachaça)
Messias Cavalcante, Author
Sá Editora, Publishers

Wine Translations - 3rd Place
210 Coquetéis Essenciais (210 Essential Cocktails)
Evelyn Ray Massaid, Author
Melhoramentos, Publisher

Wine Education - 3rd Place
Conheça Vinhos (Know Wines)
Direceu Vianna Junior and José Ivan Santos, Authors
SENAC, Publishers

Corporate Publishers - 3rd Place
Sabores Brasileiras (Brazilian Flavors)
Tramontina s/a, Authors
Bocatto, Publishers

Latin American Cuisine - 4th Place
Guia Carioca da Gastronomia de Rua (The Carioca Guide to Street Food)
Sérgio Bloch, Author
Arte Ensaio, Publisher

If you want to see more winners of the Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards 2012, click here to be directed to their website. There you'll find all the winners and finalists in every category.

Brazilian Cookbook wins Gourmand World Cookbook Award

On March 03 in Paris the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards for 2010 were handed out, and a Brazilian cookbook took first place in the fundraising category. These prizes, awarded in 53 separate categories have, since 1995, honored the best cookbooks worldwide, in any language. This year there were entries from 154 separate countries competing for honors.

In the category of fundraising cookbooks, a social-inclusion project from São Paulo called Gastronomia Solidária won first place for their cookbook, entitled Gastronomia Solidária and published by Editora Melhoramentos. The book consists of recipes from many of São Paulo's best-known chefs and food professionals, and all profits from the book are to benefit the work of Gastronomia Solidária.

This group, based in the district of Perdizes in São Paulo works with unemployed and homeless people of the district, teaching them the social, technical and professional skills they need to leave the streets and gain a career in the restaurant industry. The chefs who contributed recipes to the book have all given classes or worked on a volunteer basis at Gastronomia Solidária. The group has had great success with their project, and through their efforts the people with whom they work have had an amazing success rate in reinventing their lives and leaving the streets.

The noble work of this group, as well as the book itself, were recognized by the committee that chose this year's awards. Congratulations to Gastronomia Solidária on their success in Paris, and on their continuing work in São Paulo.

BREAKING NEWS - Brazilian Cookbooks Win International Awards

One of the most prestigious international awards for excellence in cookbook publishing is announced in Paris each February - the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Prizes are awarded in a number of categories, and this year there were entries from 136 countries.

Nine Brazilian cookbooks were honored this year,  including a special jury award, and two first place finishes.

The prize for "Best Cookbook Photography in the World" was won by Brasil a Gosto (in English, Brazil to Taste), written by São Paulo chef/author Ana Luisa Trajano, with photographs by Alexandre Schneider. The book is a compendium of regional recipes from 40 Brazilian cities, and the photographs are stunningly beautiful. Not having seen the competing books, I can only say that it would appear to be a prize well-deserved.



Author Edmundo Furtado won the prize for "Best Book in the World for Wine Professionals" with his book 
Copos de Bar e Mesa (Glassware for Bar and Table). This book presents the history and evolution of glassware and stemware for professionals, and includes complete technical details on more than 50 types of glasses, including exact dimensions, and explanations of suitability of each type for specific beverages.

The Special Jury Prize was given to Comida de Tradiçao para Crianças (Traditional Food for Children) from Brazilian publishing house Editora Esplendor, written by Eduardo Sganzerla.

A complete list of all prizes worldwide may be found here, and a list of winning entries from Brazil is here.