John Bishop wins The Edna

November 6, 2010 at 1:29 pm Leave a comment

Yesterday, the annual national cookbook awards were held at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Organized by Cuisine Canada (a group of professional food people) and the University of Guelph, the event is also the venue for awarding The Edna for which I am chair. This award is named for the Canadian icon, Edna Staebler who was one of the first Canadian authors to write about local and regional food in her magazine articles and her hugely popular cookbooks, beginning with Food that Really Schmecks. In 1996, Cuisine Canada gave Edna a lifetime achievement award that has been given since to individuals who have shown an exceptional and long-standing contribution to regional cuisine. Winners have been from across Canada, and this year John Bishop took the prize. Chef John has a very successful restaurant called Bishop’s in Vancouver in which he has had a committment to local, organic and seasonal food since 1985, long before this was a common practice.