The Australian Food Media Awards held last night applauded excellence in the field of food communication across all areas of media. Australia’s culinary community came together at Sydney’s new ‘green’ venue Doltone House in celebration of the talent and achievements of their friends, peers and colleagues in shaping conceptions of what we eat. While all the winners are unquestionably gastronomic gurus, the most influential figure in the Australian kitchen is our mum - according to the People’s Choice Award that asked the public to vote from a list of high profile personalities.
The People’s Choice Award is designed to discover who Australia believes to be the nation’s culinary hero. In the past, the award has gone to cooking legend and Senior Australian of the Year 2010 Maggie Beer. This year, however, it was recognised that really it is our mothers at the top of the food chain, and the source of inspiration for all of us - even the very best chefs.
Victoria Hansen won the Alfa One Rice Bran Oil Award for Best Radio Food Segment for her show “Bitesize Cooking”, vignettes broadcast daily on 50 radio stations nationwide.
The AAFP Award for Best Overall Contribution to the Communication of Food went to Kate McGhie, acclaimed food writer, chef and Restaurant and Caterers Chair of Judges.
The (Sydney) Magazine’s Eat Drink section won the Award for Best Food Section in a Metropolitan Newspaper. Matthew Evan’s article “Bait to Plate”, which was also published by the magazine, won the Award for Best Food Article on an Australian Product or Australian Culinary Tourism.
The AAFP Award for Best Recipe Book over $40 went to David Herbert’s The Really Useful Cookbook, published by Penguin Books (Australia); while Valli Little won the cheesematters.com.au Award for Best Recipe Book Under $40 for her book delicious. Faking It, published by HarperCollins Australia.
Hosted by the Australian Association of Food Professionals (AAFP), the awards have become the highest accolades in the Australian industry since their inauguration in 1995. “The AAFP focuses on encouraging communication about food and wine, ranging from the very practical debates about nutrition to the ideological investigation of food taboos” says President Stewart White. “There are almost as many audiences as there are subjects to discuss. These awards are designed to recognise and applaud the trail-blazers who deliver the goods in a style and voice that best speaks to those audiences”.
Over the years, the awards have expanded to recognise online communication alongside broadcast and print. In 2010, entrants came from a variety of professional backgrounds including writers, broadcasters, chefs, photographers and stylists; website developers, recipe writers and food bloggers. All entrants showcased their most outstanding work across a total of 22 categories that addressed various areas and forms of food communication.
The awards judging committee consists of 43 independent food experts with extensive industry background. Applying their specialised knowledge and communication expertise, the judges scrutinised every entry against a series of criteria tailored specifically to each category. The award goes to the entry with highest combined scores from all three judges while the highly commended honours the second best.
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