Cedar and Salt, Island Craft shortlisted for 2020 Taste Canada Awards

Award Seal for the Taste Canada Awards is circular, the centre text is white, bold and all caps set in a green circle, the text reads Shortlist / Finaliste. More text surrounds the circle which is bold, green and all caps laid into a white background, the text reads Taste Canada Awards / Les Laureats des saveurs du Canada

TouchWood Editions is thrilled to announce that both Cedar and Salt by DL Acken and Emily Lycopolus and Island Craft by Jon C. Stott have been shortlisted for 2020 Taste Canada Awards. The shortlist was announced June 25; winners will be celebrated with a virtual awards ceremony on October 25.

“Now, more than ever, people are cooking at home and taking culinary adventures in their very own kitchens. This is a tremendous opportunity to wave our Canadian flags in celebration of our talented Canadian authors and their outstanding cookbooks,” says Karen Baxter, Executive Director of Taste Canada.

Cedar and Salt: Vancouver Island Recipes from Forest, Farm, Field and Sea by DL Acken and Emily Lycopolus has been shortlisted in the Regional / Cultural category. Cedar and Salt features more than 100 recipes that showcase the best of Vancouver Island’s  homegrown and locally produced ingredients. Thoughtfully curated by islanders Acken and Lycopolus, and beautifully photographed by Acken, this cookbook is a celebration of the incredible foods to be experienced on Vancouver Island.

Cedar and Salt was shortlisted alongside Burdock & Co by Andrea Carlson, Coconut Lagoon: Recipes from a South Indian Kitchen by Joe Thottungal and Anne DesBrisay, Secrets from My Vietnamese Kitchen by Kim Thúy, and Wildness: An Ode to Newfoundland and Labrador by Jeremy Charles. It was a Globe and Mail Top 100 Book that Shaped 2019, a winner of a 2020 Gourmand World Cookbook Award in Canada, and has been shortlisted for a 2020 bc Yukon Book Prize.

Island Craft: Your Guide to the Breweries of Vancouver Island by Jon C. Stott has been shortlisted in the Culinary Narratives category, which celebrates the best food-or beverage-related narrative written by a Canadian author. Meticulously researched, this comprehensive reference guide is the ultimate beer-lover’s road trip guide from Sooke to Campbell River. Featuring Stott’s interviews with nearly forty breweries and brewpubs, it is a timely exploration of the vibrant and growing craft beer scene on Canada’s west coast.

Island Craft was shortlisted alongside Chop Suey Nation by Ann Hui, Gardening with Emma: Grow and Have Fun: A Kid-to-Kid Guide by Emma Biggs and Steven Biggs, Lost Feast: Culinary Extinction and the Future of Food by Lenore Newman, and Pepper: A Guide to the World’s Favorite Spice by Joe Barth. It was a winner of a 2020 Gourmand World Cookbook Award in Canada.

This year’s competition marks the 23rd annual Taste Canada Awards in celebration of Canadian culinary writers in five categories in both French and English. For more information, please visit tastecanada.org.