Food Season Awards 2026

A collaboration between the British Library Food Season and the ground-breaking Vittles magazine, this prize will be awarded to someone who needs to use the Library’s unique food collections to inform a piece of exciting new writing on some aspect of contemporary food or drink culture. From cookery manuscripts, to published cookery books, oral histories, to market research to food magazines and trade literature, food is found across every area of the British Library’s extensive collections. The winner will be awarded £1,500 to facilitate use of the Library’s collections, have access to British Library curatorial support, be mentored by editors at Vittles and will have their finished article published in the magazine. The winner will be paid a publishing fee for their finished article.

This year’s shortlist:

Georgia Affonso

Georgia’s entry explores histories of frozen desert vendors across cultures, and the ways their industry is evolving in the face of the Climate Emergency.

Vanessa Gamet

Vanessa’s entry examines the use of glyphosate in modern British farming and its alternatives, within the context of past and near-future agricultural policy.

Madeleine Harrison

Madeleine’s entry engages with Julie Green’s Death Row Meals in an exploration of the harsh realities of death row meals.

This award will celebrate a community gallery, exhibition, museum or library in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland for the most innovative, engaging and exciting deployment of food in online or on-site exhibitions. Food does not need to be the sole focus of any given exhibition, but an entry must use food to tell stories, explore cultural histories, or to highlight social or sustainability challenges. The winning organisation will receive a prize of £1,000.

This year’s shortlist:

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House – Victorian Christmas Experience

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House brought Victorian Christmas to life, exploring customs such as pomanders and tabletop Christmas trees, through the lens of the Gaskell family Christmas.

Food Museum, Suffolk – School Dinners

Through School Dinners, the Food Museum engaged visitors younger and older in this powerful blend of nostalgia and politics. They explored shared histories and personal memories, and prompted children to reflect on their current experience of school food and how it compares with those of past generations.

York Army Museum – Shared Tables, Shared Stories

York Army Museum traced the significance of food and drink during wartime. This sensory, playful and accessible exhibition explored what sustained soldiers on the frontline and families on the homefront, and revealed the creativity, resilience, and community spirit that shaped daily life during wartime.

This award will celebrate a recipe book with a narrative focus that showcases the power of food and its relation to cooking, stories, histories and cultures. This book will be innovative and interesting, going beyond cooking itself to connect food to the wider world. The book may explore, for example, how food intersects with the cultures of a changing planet, or may highlight hidden food histories or underexplored food communities. This award’s winning author will receive a prize of £500.

This year’s shortlist:

The Jackfruit Chronicles: Memories and Recipes from a British-Bangladeshi Kitchen by Shahnaz Ahsan

The Jackfruit Chronicles is a tale of migration, love and identity told through one family’s recipes and their search for home. With insight and love, Ahsan guides us through the captivating story of Bengali food and its place in Britain. From the arrival of her grandfather in Manchester in the 1950s, this is a spellbinding journey not just through one family story, but also the broader tale of the Bangladeshi diaspora’s quest for a new life in Britain and beyond.

Green Mountains by Caroline Eden

Beginning in Armenia, moving northwards through Georgia and ending at the Black Sea, Green Mountains weaves together the enchanting geography and the cult of the kitchen that prevails within these two countries. Tales of testing hikes and unpredictable terrain are punctuated by the foods Eden eats for respite, the recipes she shares and the stories she uncovers. Sharing both the deep comfort and satisfaction of a meal served after a long walk, and the unique relationships she forms with her hosts, Eden offers readers rare insights into the culture and food of these two countries.

The Sportsman at Home by Stephen Harris

In The Sportsman at Home, Stephen Harris welcomes us into his kitchen in Whitstable to discover how to make classic, nostalgic home cooking taste even better than you remember. Harris took over The Sportsman, a rundown pub on the Kent coast, in 1999 and turned something ordinary into something extraordinary with his pared-back style of cooking, earning a Michelin star, as well as being named the UK’s best restaurant multiple times. It’s both a cult classic adored by chefs from all over the world, as well as a truly beloved, unpretentious local. With stunning location photography of the Kent landscape that serves as Stephen’s inspiration and essays on his life in the kitchen, The Sportsman at Home is a celebration of simple food at its very best, from one of the most respected chefs in the UK.

This Award will be given to a person who has had a positive impact on the food we eat, food culture or our understanding of food. A shortlist of outstanding Food Heroes will be chosen by the Food Season team and key individuals in the world of food. The public will have an opportunity to vote for the person on the shortlist they would most like to see acknowledged as the 2026 Food Season Food Hero.

Dr Peggy Brunache

Dr Peggy Brunache is a Lecturer in Public History and Archaeology and the founding Director of the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies at the University of Glasgow. Through her work, she explores the culinary creativity of enslaved people not as a footnote in history, but as acts of survival, intelligence, and resistance, against a backdrop where much work still needs to be done in building understanding and respect around African food and identity. Her work seeks to restore dignity to the stories she uncovers, giving voice to people in history who were systematically silenced, and fundamentally challenging our understanding of food itself. Her work goes far beyond academia; it reaches into the heart of how we cook, eat, and remember. She challenges all of us: chefs, restaurateurs, writers, and foodies to confront the histories on our plates with honesty, depth and humanity.

Eyram Dzotsi

Eyram Dzotsi is the founder of Garden of Afruika (GOA), a London-based community-rooted food project, that hosts workshops, cooking clubs, supper clubs and other community initiatives around the city. Garden of Afruika celebrates African-Caribbean plant-based food, creating space where food becomes a tool connecting different diasporas, generations, and quite often, strangers. GOA’s work emphasises shared experiences, deeply rooted in memory, connection, and African-Caribbean food’s long history. Eyram is remarkable at nourishing the people around him with delicious and nutritious food whilst remaking and preserving important food history. Central to his work, is Eyram’s calm and positive spirit; he has a kindness that welcomes everyone into the spaces he creates.

Jayne Jones

Jayne Jones is recently appointed inaugural Chief Executive of the Scottish Food Commission - a testament of her knowledge and leadership across the food system. Throughout her career Jayne has championed and embodied the importance of public food as Chair of the Public Sector Catering Alliance (representing frontline caterers in schools, hospitals, prisons, military, care and further education sectors) and as Chair of ASSIST FM in Scotland. Jayne has worked collaboratively across multiple parts of the system, ensuring good food is available to all. Jayne’s knowledge and understanding of different geographies across the UK is invaluable. For example, she trailblazed the use of drones for food delivery across the islands in her home turf of Argyll and Bute. Jayne’s leadership will continue to play a critical role in food systems transformation in Scotland and beyond.

Nick Green

Nick Green is founder of The Green Butcher in Twickenham - a butchery built around ethics, quality, and transparency. Working closely with organic Pasture for Life producers, Nick champions a model of food production with animal welfare, regenerative farming, and environmental responsibility at its heart. Nick’s work centres around provenance and trust, prioritising traceability at every stage from farm to customer. Nick has created more than a butcher’s shop; he has established a celebration of origin and animal stewardship that sets a standard for ethical butchery and sustainable food systems across the UK.

Jenn Kast

Jenn Kast has worked quietly in the background of the British Cheese Industry for 30+ years (Neals Yard, Hafod Cheddar, Kappa Casein) and has been a bastion of support for new cheesemakers and established producers. With such a great technical understanding and being a great educator, she's helped hundreds of people understand, improve and think more about how their cheese is made. She is generous with her time to whoever asks and needs support. Her particular efforts have been key in understanding, experimenting with, and researching Britain's historic cheese types (The Territorials); helping re-establish their deserved fame and quality.

Thomasina Miers

Thomasina Miers works tirelessly in her advocacy across the food system. She has consistently championed better nutrition for children, pushing for meaningful change in school food while supporting the role of chefs within education. Beyond this, she works relentlessly behind the scenes to influence policy that supports hospitality, including campaigning for measures such as VAT reform. She cares deeply about food, farming, and the future of independent businesses. Her work is thoughtful, impactful, and often under-recognised — a true force for positive change and a real asset to the food industry.

Vote for your food hero.