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. If you have a fascinating and significant food story to tell that would be transformed by a few weeks of using the British Library’s collections, and editorial support from the Vittles team, we urge you to apply for the 2026 Food Stories Fellowship Award. 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.

Learn more and apply.

This 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. Entrants will be asked to describe how food has been used to engage audiences, tell stories and create impact. Entrants will also be required to provide images of the exhibition. Eligibility for entry for this award applies to exhibitions in small-to-medium-sized institutions in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, taking place between 1 January and 31 December 2025. The winning organisation will receive a prize of £1,000.

Learn more and apply.

This 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. Entries for this award must be for books published in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland between 1 January and 31 December 2025. This award’s winning author will receive a prize of £500.

Learn more and apply.

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.

Voting will open in May.