The Blue Ribbon Cookbook was named runner-up against more than 50 other finalists in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris on July 1. Author Liz Harfull travelled to France for the event, held in the beautiful home of the famous La Comedie Francaise theatre company. Food and wine book authors from around the world gathered for the stellar occasion which featured a special appearance by Julia Powell, whose blog and memoir about her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's famous book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, is about to be released as a feature film starring Merryl Streep and Amy Adams.
The Easy Recipe book category in which Liz's book competed, was won by Spanish author Xabier Guterrez. In announcing the winner, awards organiser Edouard Cointreau (pictured with Liz) pointed out the category was the hardest to win, with more than half the cookbooks sold around the world falling into this sector.
Cointreau, who is from the famous French wine-making family, acted as host and master of ceremonies at the event. Guests were served vintage champagne and cognac, and food prepared by students from the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, which is headed up by his brother, Andre Cointreau.
