Sprout Award Voting Begins!

For the last four years the folks at Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks in Vancouver have put together a list of their favourite cookbooks of the year and let their customers vote for their choice. At stake is the store's People's Choice silver Sprouts Award. (There is also a Judge's Choice award.)

This year has some great contenders, including a number of books from restaurants that focus on local, sustainably-sourced ingredients like Araxi and C Restaurant in British Columbia, Paley's Place in Oregon, and The Kitchen in Scotland. I'm really excited to see places like these put out their own cookbooks and share their philosophies on food and cooking. It's even more exciting to see them on short lists for awards!

Here is a complete list of the nominees Sprouts Cookbook Awards. You can find some quick reviews of the books themselves, as well as link to the voting page, on the shop's blog: Cooks with Books.

1. How to Roast a Lamb by Michael Psilakis (Little, Brown & Company)
2. Tender by Nigel Slater (HarperCollins)
3. The Tastes of Sonora Resort by Matthew Stowe (Sonora Resort)
4. Araxi by James Walt (D&M)
5. Momofuku by David Chang (Clarkson Potter)
6. The Paley's Place Cookbook by Vitaly Paley and Kimberly Paley with Robert Reynolds (Ten Speed Press)
7. From Nature to Plate by Tom Kitchin (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
8. C Food by Robert Clark and Harry Kambolis (Whitecap)
9. Ad Hoc At Home by Thomas Keller (Artisan)
10. French Taste by Laura Calder (HarperCollins)

As usual, if you are considering buying one of these books, please support your local independent bookseller like Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks in Vancouver or Appetite for Books in Montreal.

Have a great local foodie or independent bookseller in your region? Let us know!