The Turkish Cookbook wins at the André Simon Awards
Author Musa Dagdeviren received a Special Commendation for his groundbreaking book in London earlier this week
The French-born author, wine merchant and erstwhile president of the Food & Wine Society, André Louis Simon, bridged an important cultural gap, working in Britain from the age of 25 until his death at 93 in 1970, to distribute fine wines and disseminate refined understanding of good food and drink.
It is fitting then, that the annual André Simon Food and Drink Book Awards recognize another practitioner crossing borders in the name of gastronomy. The awards ceremony for books published in 2019, which was held earlier this week at the Goring Hotel in central London, included a Special Commendation for The Turkish Cookbook by Musa Dagdeviren.
Dagdeviren is not only a successful chef and restaurateur, but also a dedicated chronicler of Turkish cooking and eating habits. In the Turkish Cookbook he doesn’t simply tell readers how to prepare an authentic lahmacun or iskender kebab, but also explains the practices of street vendors, the influence of seasons and the regional histories and idiosyncrasies that bind his country’s cookery together. This is why André Simon judge and fellow author Niki Segnit said “The Turkish Cookbook is a vast, bejeweled box of Turkish delights.”
To uncover some of those culinary gems for yourself come along to a special screening of the Netflix Mind of a Chef episode featuring Dagdeviren, followed by a Q&A session and book signing with the author. This takes place on Sunday 26 January at 2pm in Bush House, central London. Register for free tickets here. Can’t make the talk? Then do the next best thing and order a copy of The Turkish Cookbook here, and bring all those Turkish delights to your door.