Every year the Fortnums Food & Drink Awards attracts a stellar crowd of food talent and this year it was peak celeb spotting as the guest of honour turned out to be HRH Prince Charles.
The Prince of Wales was there to receive a special award recognising "his unwavering commitment to the cause of sustainable and healthy food and farming." After one hell of a trumpet blowing intro, the likes of which he said one normally has to wait to read in one's obituary, the Prince talked about his passion for organic farming - and the stick he got for being one of the early proponents of it in this country in modern times.
"One of the great pleasures is to be able to look back and remind everyone that it wasn't always like this. It is almost 30 years since I first suggested that organic farming ought to be taken seriously," he recalled - adding that "It would be an understatement to say that not everyone was entirely comfortable with the decisions I'd taken. And I shall never forget the vehemence of the reaction, much of it coming from the sort of people who regard agriculture as an industrial process with efficient production as the sole yardstick of success."
Of course, HRH wasn't the only one to pick up an award. Chris Evans turned up to present TV Personality of the Year to national treasure Mary Berry while multiple-award winner, Diana Henry, won Cookery Writer for her work in The Telegraph’s Stella magazine.
Here are the full list of this year's winners:
- Debut Food Book - Catch by Thom Eagle
- Food Book - Pasta Pane Vino by Matt Goulding
- Food Writer - Clare Finney for work in Foodism & Market Life
- Debut Cookery Book - The Modern Italian Cook by Joe Trivelli
- Cookery Book - Sight Smell Touch Taste Sound: A New Way to Cook by Sybil Kapoor
- Cookery Writer - Diana Henry for work in The Telegraph’s Stella magazine
- Debut Drink Book - The Wandering Vine: Wine, the Romans and Me by Nina Caplan
- Drink Book - The Life of Tea: A Journey to the World’s Finest Teas by Michael Freeman & Timothy d’Offay
- Drink Writer - Alice Lascelles for work in FT Weekend & FT How To Spend It
- Restaurant Writer - Marina O'Loughlin for work in The Sunday Times Magazine
- Programme - Nadiya's Asian Odyssey, Wall To Wall Media
- Radio or Podcast - Lecke, Joe - Presented and Produced by Lucy Dearlove
- Photographer - David Nash
Read more about the winners on the Fortnum's website
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