The country’s finest culinary titles were celebrated on Monday, Sept. 21, at the annual Taste Canada Food Writing Awards. Hosted by Ricardo and Vikram Vij, the event honoured eight French- and English-language titles, with the addition of a new food-blogging award.

Regional/cultural cookbook award recipient Lisa Ahier told the crowd that her winning entry, The SoBo Cookbook: Recipes from the Tofino Restaurant at the End of the Canadian Road, grew into a 10-year project, continually supported by Appetite by Random House publisher Robert McCullough. HarperCollins Canada dominated the single-subject cookbook category (and the night in general, with six nominations), but lost to Duchess Bake Shop, a self-published cookbook by Edmonton author Giselle Courteau.

In addition to the awards, four writers were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Celebrated author Rose Murray was honoured for her contributions to shaping perceptions about Canadian cuisine. Nellie Lyle Pattinson, author of the iconic 1923 Canadian Cook Book, was posthumously recognized, along with the two authors of the 1953 edition, Helen Wattie and Elinor Donaldson Whyte, the latter of whom was present to accept the award.

The English-language Taste Canada Food Writing Awards winners are:

Culinary Narratives
Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen: Unveiling the Rituals, Traditions, and Food of the Hutterite Culture, Mary-Ann Kirkby (Penguin Canada Books)

General Cookbooks
Family Meals, Michael Smith (Penguin Canada Books)

Regional/Cultural Cookbooks
The SoBo Cookbook: Recipes from the Tofino Restaurant at the End of the Canadian Road, Lisa Ahier and Andrew Morrison (Appetite by Random House)

Single-Subject Cookbooks
Duchess Bake Shop, Giselle Courteau (Duchess Bake Shop)