On behalf of the Trustees of the Awards I would like to welcome you and we are looking forward to receiving your entries for the 2023 Awards.
This year we are delighted to welcome Asma Kahn as the assessor for the food books. Asma is one of the UK and India's brightest culinary stars. An award-winning chef, best-selling cookbook author and the owner of London's famed Darjeeling Express restaurant. She sits on the Mayor's Business Advisory Board and is an Honorary Fellow at Oxford University. Asma is the first British chef to be profiled in Netflix's Emmy nominated Chef's Table and the first chef to be featured on Vogue's list of 25 most influential women. She has guest-starred in notable television series Celebrity MasterChef and America's Emmy nominated Top Chef amongst other programmes. Asma has become one of the the UK's most prominent female chefs and her restaurant is a favourite amongst Hollywood's A-list entertainers. Best known for her all-female kitchen team and her commitment to social change, Asma is an unstoppable force in the hospitality industry and beyond.
Dave Broom will be in charge of assessing the drink books for 2023. Dave has been writing about drink for over 30 years and has specialised in spirits since 1996. He has both won and been shortlisted for the André Simon Awards. In his time, he's been contributing editor at Whisky Magazine, Whisky Magazine Japan, Whisky Advocate, and scotchwhisky.com. He's written 14 books, including 'The Way of Whisky: A Journey into Japanese Whisky', and 'The World Atlas of Whisky'. His newest, 'A Sense of Place', examining the role of community, culture, location and sustainability in Scotch was named as one of the Top 6 drinks books of 2022 by the New York Times. He's written and presented two films, 'Cuba In A Bottle', and the award-winning, 'The Amber Light'. The Irish Times described him as 'an agreeable man with a pepper-and-salt beard'
Books can now be submitted and the criteria, rules and the application form can be found under 2023 awards. A copy of each book entered should be sent to the Chairman, trustees, the secretary and the relevant assessor - six copies in all. If you are entering books do contact Katie Lander on Katie@andresimon.co.uk for the address details, each one needs to be sent individually to the trustees and assessors.
The closing date is 17 November 2023 and the shortlist will be announced in early December.
We look forward to receiving the books for the 2023 awards.
NICK LANDER
CHAIRMAN
Nick Lander, Chair of the André Simon Memorial Fund
2022 Award Winners
Food:
COOKING: Simply and well, for one or many by Jeremy Lee
Drink:
Imperial Wine by Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre
The John Avery Award:
The Wilderness Cure by Mo Wilde
Special Commendation:
Lune: Croissants All Day, All Night by Kate Reid
