Chefs stir it up for book awards
A new category — the Avonmore Cookbook of the Year, has been added to the list and six celebrity cooks have been nominated for the inaugural award.
The chefs are — Rachel Allen (Cake), Donal Skehan (Kitchen Hero: Great Food for Less), Domini Kemp (Domini at Home), Catherine Fulvio (Eat Like an Italian), Neven Maguire (The MacNean Restaurant Cookbook) and Aoife Carrigy (ICA Cookbook).
The shortlist for the 2012 Bord Gáis Energy-sponsored awards announced yesterday includes acclaimed novelists John Banville, Edna O’Brien, Emma O’Donoghue, Joseph O’Connor, Cecelia Ahern, Tana French and Kevin Barry.
There is also a wide range of memoirs from Irish political and sporting figures including former president Mary Robinson, Senator David Norris, sporting commentator Jimmy Magee, Olympic star Katie Taylor and rugby legend John Hayes.
This is the 7th year of the Irish Book Awards. Public voting opens today and readers are encouraged to vote at www.irishbookawards.ie.
Votes can be cast until midnight Nov 18 and the winners will be announced at a gala event at the RDS, Dublin, on Nov 22.
Chairman of the Irish Book Awards, Derek Hughes, said they were fortunate to be working with so many great Irish writers who enjoyed an international reputation that was second to none.
“Each year the endlessly creative cycle of Irish writing unfolds. Despite tough economic conditions, despite massive structural change, our industry continues to bring to the reading public a range of fantastic books to enjoy,” he said.
Bord Gáis Energy managing director David Kirwan said the response from customers since the start of their association with the Irish Book Awards confirmed that books were hugely important to them.
“We are very conscious of the need to support initiatives that are relevant to the communities in which we work and valued by the customers we serve.”
