Phillips wins Jane Grigson Trust Award

Riaz Phillips has won the £2,000 Jane Grigson Trust Award for new food and drink writers with his book West Winds, which will be published by Dorling Kindersley in June 2022. 

West Winds is described as “an ode to Jamaica, its people—wherever in the world they are—and their heritage”, pairing dishes with Phillips’ memories of growing up in the Caribbean diaspora of London and his time spent living in Jamaica, as well as folktales and anecdotes. 

The two runners-up were Or Rosenboim for Air and Love, which will be published by Picador in May 2024, and Cynthia Shanmugalingam’s Rambutan, which will be published by Bloomsbury in June 2022 

The award is given to a first-time writer of a book about food or drink which has been commissioned but not yet published. 

Geraldene Holt, chair of judges and outgoing chair of the Jane Grigson Trust, said: “Riaz brings his fresh, honest insight into the food culture of Jamaica and West Winds deserves the widest possible audience.” 

Judge Sarit Packer, of restaurant group Honey & Co, added: “I loved the connection Riaz makes between ingredients and cooking, and as someone who is a child of immigrants, I identify with the feeling of being in limbo in both worlds, which comes across strongly in Riaz’s writing.”