Congratulations

It's that time of year again, when food bloggers across the world pay tribute to those who have made the greatest effort and the biggest impression during the previous twelve months. Being nominated for an award like this can be a tremendous boost, both to your motivation to continue blogging and to your self-confidence in other fields. I know this, because I well remember the thrill I got when I was nominated myself, two years ago.

This year, working long hours as a professional chef, I've enjoyed putting together a good few posts, but without being able to blog with the concentration and intensity that I managed while still a student. But there are others out there - some new to blogging, others old hands at it - who really excelled in 2008.

I was proud to nominate or co-nominate ten of my favourite bloggers for various categories and delighted to discover that my recommendations weren't all ignored. Four of my nominees were shortlisted - Sarah Cabral's Eating Britain in the Industry section, Nick N's Foodie At Fifteen (now 16) as Best New Food Blog, David Hall's Book The Cook as best Chef Blog and Helen Graves' Food Stories in the City Blog category (I think I nominated Helen in a different category, but what the heck). Unfortunately, none of them won. But as they say, everywhere except perhaps Australia, it's not the winning...

Congratulations to all of the shortlisted bloggers and to the winners, who have just been announced. As I said two years ago, just being a tiny part of that vibrant and thriving community of food bloggers out there makes it all worthwhile. In the meantime, I'm working on a post about my new job at Lasarte. Honest. I promise I'll publish it soon.