Sea Gastronomy: Fish and Shellfish of the North Atlantic by Michael O’Meara, published by Artisan House Connemara, has been shortlisted for two accolades in the world’s most prestigious culinary writing awards, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2016.
Internationally recognised as the ‘Oscars’ of the culinary industry, the World Cookbook Awards is the most distinguished competition of its kind in the world. Sea Gastronomy has been shortlisted by an international committee in two categories — Best in the World in the Fish and Seafood category, and most significantly, Best in the World in the Cookbook of the Year category.
This outstanding achievement positions Sea Gastronomy as the one of the most distinguished cookbooks in the world with the potential of winning the title of the world’s best cookery book, competing against global competitors in China, South America, Europe, and USA. O’Meara’s publication is the only Irish nominee in those two categories, while 13 other Irish nominees have been shortlisted across various other categories. The highly acclaimed Sea Gastronomy has been positioned in the centre of the global gastronomic landscape.
Now in its 20th year, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards is the world’s leading culinary authority in publishing. The awards recognise the world’s most accomplished and influential writers in the food industry across 136 countries.
“I am truly honoured to have been recognised,” said Michael O’Meara, chef/proprietor of Oscars Seafood Bistro in Galway. “Sea Gastronomy is a very special publication to me, and it has been a culmination of a 20 year journey of research, created from a lifelong passion of fish, seafood, cooking, and photography. To be acknowledged and shortlisted by the Gourmand World Cookbook awards grants us the opportunity to showcase Ireland’s unique seafood story to a global audience and profile Ireland as one of the most distinguished culinary destinations in the world.”
Recently announced as winner of John and Sally McKenna’s Book of the Year 2015, Sea Gastronomy is a stunning encyclopaedia of fish, containing some 220 recipes using more than 110 seafood species of the North Atlantic. The combination of recipes, cooking tips, and scientific knowledge and facts behind each seafood species is encyclopaedic and makes for spellbinding reading. O’Meara’s combination of culinary and photographic skills, and most of all his expertise, passion, and commitment to all things related to Irish fish, seafood, and fish cuisine are reflected in this outstanding tome. The compelling and imaginative Sea Gastronomy is an absolute must for any culinary connoisseur.
This is a landmark achievement for author Michael O’Meara and publishers Artisan House. The Connemara-based publishing company, established in 2013, creates beautifully illustrated high-quality books and bespoke publications on a diverse range of subjects.
Mary Ruddy and Vincent Murphy of Artisan House spoke of their delight. “We are very honoured that Sea Gastronomy has been shortlisted as finalists in the prestigious World Gourmand Cookbook Awards. We are aware that we are a small scale and relative newcomer to publishing so this is a huge endorsement of our commitment to high production values in our publishing. It is also very much a reflection of the commitment and dedication of not only our author, Michael O’Meara, but also contributors like Dr Peter Tyndall and Ernie Whalley as well as copy editors, indexers, etc. Sea Gastronomy is a truly Irish publication that is making waves in the culinary publishing world. Michael has established himself as a national culinary authority and we are proud to see Sea Gastronomy getting such recognition.”
This year the prestigious Best in the World Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2016 will be held in Yantai, China, on May 29. There will be four days of conferences, presentations, tastings, shows, exhibitions, for business and pleasure with Chinese and international publishers, authors, journalists, and distributors. For more information see www.cookbookfair.com
Sea Gastronomy was supported by BIM under the Fisheries Local Action Group Scheme.
Sea Gastronomy is available nationwide through Dubray, Eason, Waterstones, Charlie Byrne’s, Hodgis Figgis, and independent bookshops. Signed copies of regular and special limited editions are available from Oscars Seafood Bistro in Galway, www.oscarseafoodbistro.com, or online from Artisan House at www.artisanhouse.ie RRP is €30.
