Decanter writers shortlisted for Roederer awards, Raymond Blanc honoured
July 8, 2009 Lucy Shaw
Three Decanter writers have been shortlisted for the prestigious Roederer Awards 2009.
Bordeaux specialist Jane Anson and regular Decanter contributor Margaret Rand have been nominated in for International Wine Writer of the Year for articles in Decanter. The Observer's Tim Atkin and Chris Losh from Imbibe are also shortlisted for the award.
Decanter columnist Michael Broadbent is up for the International Wine Columnist of the Year gong, alongside Atkin, Robert Joseph of Wine Business International and Joanna Simon of The Sunday Times.
Other awards up for grabs include International Wine Book 2009, Champagne Writer of the Year, Online Writer of the Year and Regional Wine Writer of the Year.
The Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Awards are judged by a panel including Decanter columnist Andrew Jefford and wine writer Charles Metcalfe.
The winners will be announced on 7 September at 30 St May Axe, better known as 'the Gherkin', in the City of London. The prize in each category is £1500 and a magnum of Roederer Cristal.
Meanwhile, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons proprietor Raymond Blanc picked up a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Caterer and Hotelkeeper awards, known as the 'Cateys', at Grosvenor House last night.
Blanc was honoured for turning Le Manoir, his flagship hotel-restaurant near Oxford, into a gastronomic institution and nurturing some of the catering industry's brightest stars over the last three decades.
In an impassioned speech, Blanc talked of his delight after first opening his Maison Blanc chain at seeing British people walking out of his shops in the morning with baguettes under their arms.
Blanc was also emphatic that he has no plans to hang up his apron: 'Everyone thinks I'm going to retire and go back to France to eat frogs legs, but let me assure you, I'm not going anywhere'.
Angela Hartnett, chef-patron of London's Michelin-starred Murano, scooped the prestigious Chef award, the first woman to do so in the awards' 26-year history.
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Lucy Shaw