Cookbook nominated for Gourmand accolade
If you are one for relishing your palate in great food or enjoy immersing yourself in the art of cooking and creating culinary miracles, then brace yourself, as Antoinette de Chavonnes Vrugt has done it again, as her book, ‘Life on a Table”, launched late last year, has just raked in its first nomination for a prestigious award Gourmand best in the World Awards.
Vrugt’s second cookbook on Namibian cuisine, has been nominated as a 2016 finalist in the Africa category for Cookbooks and Food Culture in the prestigious Gourmand Best in the World Awards. The annual award ceremony of this global competition, described as the “Oscars of Food Awards”, will take place on 28 May in Yantai, China.
In 2009 Antoinette received this prestigious award for her first cookbook, My Hungry Heart, in Paris, France. As one of the two “Best Cookbooks in the World for African Cuisine”, My Hungry Heart was the first Namibian book ever to receive an International Gourmand Award. These international awards celebrate the global publishing of cookbooks and books on wine, featuring many world-renowned chefs who compete in different categories for the “Best in the World Award” in each category.
Being the only award-winning book in the category for African cuisine, which was written by an African and published in Africa, makes Antoinette’s 2009 award even more exceptional. The other winning books featuring African cuisine were written and published by authors and publishers from other parts of the world.
As the time to the prestigious ceremony in Yantai draws near, proud finalists and previous winners in numerous different categories have shared their excitement across world media. Locally the positive response to Life on a Table has been truly heartwarming, said Venture Publications’ Riéth van Schalkwyk, the publisher of both cookbooks.
“We are incredibly proud to be associated with this world-first for Namibia, with Antoinette herself, and with her two internationally awarded Namibian cookbooks.We savour what Namibia has to offer, whenever and wherever possible,” she added.
