Three cookbooks by Martha’s Vineyard authors won awards from The Readable Feast, an annual culinary book award that recognizes the best in cookbooks and food writing in New England.
Three cookbooks by Martha’s Vineyard authors won awards from The Readable Feast, an annual culinary book award that recognizes the best in cookbooks and food writing in New England.
Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine by Jessica Harris received the Book of the Year award, The Sea Table, produced by the Martha’s Vineyard Fisherman’s Preservation Trust, received awards in the New England Book Of The Year and Self-Published categories, and The Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook by Julia Blanter received a Community Cookbook award.
“We were very thrilled with the books that came in this year and all those books that came in from Martha’s Vineyard were just the cream of the crop,” Readable Feast co-founder Louisa Kasdon said.
Ms. Harris’s book contains personal essays, historical context and recipes from Indigenous, European and African American cultures. Ms. Kasdon commended Ms. Harris’s book for its originality and perspective.
Julia Blanter won a Community Cookbook award.
Julia Blanter won a Community Cookbook award.
“It changed the way I think about what we consider American cooking, so kudos to her beautiful piece of research [that was] beautifully executed into a book that I think people will love,” she said.
The Readable Feast awards were started in 2016 after Ms. Kasdon and co-founder Annie Copps, who both have decades of experience in the food industry, wanted to recognize the hard work of cookbook authors.
“We know how hard it is to produce a cookbook, and there is absolutely no relationship between the number of hours you spend preparing a cookbook and what you will earn on it. It’s a passion project in almost all cases and a labor of love,” Ms. Kasdon said.
Ms. Blanter’s cookbook was a “great regional cookbook,” according to Ms. Kasdon.
“Great recipes, lots of good, strong voices, recipes that even our sophisticated panel felt that they wanted to make and add to their own repertoire,” she said.
Catherine Walters and Shelley Edmundson, of The Sea Table, received awards in the New England Book Of The Year and Self-Published categories.
Catherine Walters and Shelley Edmundson, of The Sea Table, received awards in the New England Book Of The Year and Self-Published categories.
The judging panel is comprised of renowned food writers, culinary experts and fellow cookbook authors. Twenty-eight books in total were recognized. The awards ceremony will be held next month in Cambridge.
The panel felt that The Sea Table encapsulated New England and its seafood scene perfectly.
“We all just were floored by how much we loved the book, the voice of the book, the voice of the fisherman, the recipes,” Ms. Kasdon said. “There are a lot of seafood cookbooks that we get as a New England based [award] but this book just stood out as one of the great ones we’ve received over 10 years.”
As Ms. Kasdon reflects on 10 years of celebrating cookbooks, she is grateful for how food and cooking can create connections.
“It’s just been such a joy to see the continued strength and interest in the world of producing beautiful food year after year,” she said. “I believe that eating is what makes us human, and preparing food for other people every year from new cookbook is just a thrill.”
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