"Creating a cookbook is a tremendous act of love." - Donna Dooher 

When it comes to cooking and cookbooks, an author puts their heart and soul into it - all for the hope of sharing their food, a tradition, or a family history and love for cooking with you. Cookbooks are an expression and labour of love, and the books selected for the Taste Canada Awards not only share this love, but also help grow and cultivate the beauty of the Canadian food landscape. Last night we were lucky enough to celebrate the Taste Canada Awards and honour some of the best in food writing and blogging from across Canada. Coming from near and far, bloggers, authors and editors alike attended this fun annual evening for the award ceremony and the gala.

Restaurants Canada's very own President and CEO, Donna Dooher hosted the awards, and had Vikram Vij of Vij's and Ricardo of Ricardo Cuisine by her side as the hilarious MCs for the evening. The awards even had a snazzy red carpet - it felt just like Hollywood; check out our gallery of photos from the event:

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The Taste Canada Food Writing Awards has been around for 18 years and this was the first year that awards recognized and honoured blogs as a separate food writing category. Out of 96 submitted books and blog entries (more accurately: 69 books and 27 blog entries) for 5 separate categories, 26 shortlisted finalists were chosen.

Judged on how the recipes work, story telling and creative visuals,  the finalists all bring something beautiful to our shared Canadian heritage. Of the 26, we're happy to share the winners below - for a full synopsis of the books, check out the Taste Canada Awards site.

English

1. Culinary Narratives - Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen: Unveiling the Rituals, Traditions, and Food of the Hutterite Culture. Mary-Ann Kirkby.
2. General Cookbooks  - Family Meals. Michael Smith.
3. Regional/Cultural Cookbooks - The SoBo Cookbook: Recipes from the Tofino Restaurant at the End of the Canadian Road. Lisa Ahier and Andrew Morrison.
4. Single-Subject Cookbooks - Duchess Bake Shop. Giselle Courteau. 
5. Blog - “Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnut, Orange, and Saffron.” Allison Day.

French

1. Narrations Culinaires - Ainsi cuisinaient les belles-sœurs dans l'œuvre de Michel Tremblay : Une traversée de notre patrimoine culinaire 1913 - 1963. Anne Fortin.
2. Livres de Cuisine Générale -  Ensemble : Cuisine gourmande et colorée. Christelle Tanielian.
3. Livres de Cuisine Régionale et Culturelle - La récolte. Bernard Dubé.
4. Livres de Cuisine de Sujet Unique - Soupes-repas gourmandes. Anne-Louise Desjardins.
5. Blogue - «Pizza 3 minutes : saucisses italiennes, épinards, tomates cerises, cœurs d’artichauts et mozzarella » Christelle Tanielian.

We applaud all the winners of last night's awards - our growing and bustling restaurant industry wouldn't be the same without you contributing your knowledge and love to it.