The winners of the 2008 Australian Food Media Awards were announced on Friday September 26 in the Parkside Ballroom of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, to an audience of 400 people.

This year, the biennial awards encouraged public participation for the first time. Maggie Beer was the recipient of the Lifestyle FOOD Channel's People's Choice Award, along with Best Television Food Segment for ABCTV's The Cook and the Chef (with co-presenter Simon Bryant and producer Margot Phillipson), and Maggie's Harvest (Lantern) was highly commended for best food-related book.

Stewart White, president of the Food Media Club of Australia (FMCA) said ‘the level of community participation was fabulous--people clearly enjoyed the experience. The food industry is richer for the public inclusion.'

The Awards are presented by FMCA to promote an awareness of fine food to the general public through recognition of food media communicators.

The Best Overall Contribution to the Communication of Food Award was given to radio and TV presenter, and Australian Women's Weekly food director, Lyndey Milan.

The book category winners and runners-up were:

Simon Johnson Award for Best Food-related Book:
Winner: Soffritto (Lucio Galletto & David Dale, A&U)
Highly Commended: Maggie's Harvest (Maggie Beer, Lantern)

Australian Chicken Meat Federation Award for Best Recipe Book over $36:
Winner: Turquoise (Greg & Lucy Malouf, Hardie Grant Books)
Highly Commended: Mix & Bake (Belinda Jeffery, Lantern)

Füri Knives Award for Best Recipe Book under $36:
Winner: Sharing Plates (Jared Ingersoll, Murdoch Books)
Highly Commended: The Great Aussie Barbie Cookbook (Kim Terakes, Viking)

PorkStar Award for Best Cookery Book by a Chef or Restaurant:
Winner: MoVida (Frank Camorra & Richard Cornish, Murdoch Books)
Highly Commended: French Lessons (Justin North, Hardie Grant Books)

Australian Pork Award for Best Health, Nutrition or Specific Diet Book:
Winner: The Healthy Skin Diet (Karen Fischer, Exisle Publishing)
Highly Commended: The New Glucose Revolution Diabetes & Pre-diabetes Handbook (Jennie Brand-Miller, Kaye Foster-Powell, Stephen Colagiuri & Alan Barclay, Hachette Livre Australia). 

Source: http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2008/09/09665/

This article from Thorpe Bowker's Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Tags: alan barclay, belinda jeffery, david dale, frank camorra, greg malouf, jared ingersoll, jennie brand-miller, karen fischer, kaye foster-powell, kim terakes, lucio galletto, lucy malouf, maggie beer, richard cornish, stephen colagiuri