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The Jane Grigson Trust Award for New Food Writers – Shortlist 2021

22nd February 2021

 

The Oxford Cultural Collective is proud to support The Jane Grigson trust Award for New Food Writers.

 

The shortlist for the Jane Grigson Trust Award 2021 is announced today, Monday 22 February 2021.

The three shortlisted books are:

 

Created in memory of the distinguished British food writer Jane Grigson, the Jane Grigson Trust Award is made to a first-time writer of a book about food or drink which has been commissioned but not yet published. In the spirit of Jane Grigson and her writing, the Award is for a non-fiction book on food and drink in the widest sense, from any genre – cookbook, memoir, travel, history – as long as the primary subject is food or drink.

 

The 2021 Jane Grigson Trust Award Shortlist

Hungry Heart – A Story of Food and Love by Clare Finney

From the totemic value of Christmas dinner to the Krispy Kremes in the staff kitchen via the solace of chicken soup to the silliness of ice cream, this book uses Clare’s own life – and the recipes that shaped it ­– as a leitmotif in an honest account of humans breaking bread together and what, in a world of Deliveroo and digital communication, that really means.

Clare Finney’s first food article – about her divorced parents and their new spouses coming together for Christmas dinner – was published in a local magazine when she was 18. Named Food Writer of the Year in Fortnum and Mason’s Food and Drink writing awards 2019, she now writes for a variety of national and regional magazines and newspapers, interviewing chefs, farmers and food producers and covering everything from comfort food to caviar. @finneyclare

 

Mother Tongue – Flavours of a Second Generation by Gurdeep Loyal

Using his own experience as a second generation British Indian as a starting point, through recipes and text Gurdeep explores the popular traditions of second generation food writers who both celebrate their parents’ legacy and see themselves as cultural in-betweeners.  With recipes for everything from chat paneer hot dogs to coconut crab crumpets, Gurdeep shows how the blended cuisines of second generation children around the world today should be celebrated in their own right.

Gurdeep Loyal has worked in the food industry for many years and is currently head of food trends at Marks & Spencer. He curates the online platform Mother Tongue which celebrates second generation food stories from around the world. @gurd_loyal

 

Breadsong – How Bread Changed our Lives by Kitty & Alex Tait

Two years ago, in a moment of personal crisis, father and daughter Alex and Kitty baked a loaf of bread together in their family kitchen. One loaf turned into ten, which turned into hundreds and, following a very successful Kickstarter campaign, they opted out of the lives society expected of them (school for 14-year-old Kitty, a teaching career for her dad) and into the lives they wanted for themselves.

In May 2019 they opened The Orange Bakery in Watlington, Oxfordshire, which has been a huge hit, with people travelling from far and wide to sample their bread, buns and biscuits. This book charts Alex and Kitty’s journey from that first loaf, merging lots of delicious recipes and the story of creating a successful small bakery with their experiences of how doing something as simple as baking bread can bring a family together. therealorangebakery

 

Chair of Judges, Geraldene Holt says:

“From the launch six years ago of the Trust’s Award for new writing we have encouraged entries from a broad spectrum of food writing. The standard of entry was exceptionally high this year, so it was very hard to come up with a shortlist of just three.  The three shortlisted books all contain wonderful recipes but they are also memoirs in which the authors explore their identities and place in the world through food.  Deciding the winner will be a fascinating though difficult task.”

 

Joining Geraldene Holt (food writer and chair of the Jane Grigson Trust) on the judging panel for the 2021 award are: Angela Clutton (food writer, broadcaster, and 2018 Jane Grigson Trust Award winner); Henrietta Green (food writer and Trustee of the JGT), Gareth Grundy (deputy editor of Observer Food Monthly), and Diana Henry (food writer and Trustee of the JGT).

The winning book will be announced on Monday 22 March. The author(s) of the winning book will receive a cheque for £2000 and the runners-up will receive £100 book tokens. All shortlisted authors will receive copies of The Best of Jane Grigson.

 

For more information please contact Laura Creyke at MHM

on laura@markhutchinsonnamagement.co.uk / 07951 777407 / @MarkHMgmt

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

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