‘Professional Help’ Columnists Win Three Top Cookbook Awards

“The French Laundry Cookbook,” written by Los Angeles Times regular columnists Thomas Keller and Michael Ruhlman, won three top awards at the 1999 International Assn. of Culinary Professionals cookbook awards Saturday night.

The book, based on Keller’s French Laundry restaurant in the Napa Valley, was named the best cookbook of the year, the best designed cookbook of the year and the best first cookbook of the year. Co-written by Susie Heller and with photographs by Deborah Jones, it is published by Artisan.

Keller and Ruhlman write the column Professional Help for the Times, featuring restaurant tips for home cooks. It appears the first Wednesday of each month.

The Bert Greene Awards for distinguished food journalism went to Jeffrey Steingarten of Vogue and Janet Fletcher of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Jane Grigson Award for distinguished scholarship went to Alan Davidson of “The Oxford Companion to Food.”

The association is the world’s largest organization of cookbook writers, cooking school teachers, chefs and other food professionals.

The winners:

American: “American Home Cooking” by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison (Broadway Books, $30). Bread, Other Baking and Sweets: “Simply Sensational Desserts” by Francois Payard (Broadway Books, $30). Chef and Restaurant: “Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook” by Alice Waters (HarperCollins Publishers, $34). Food Reference/Technical: “The Oxford Companion to Food” by Alan Davidson (Oxford University Press, $60). General: “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home” by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin (Alfred A. Knopf, $40). Health and Special Diet: “A Spoonful of Ginger” by Nina Simonds (Alfred A. Knopf, $30). International: “The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen” by Grace Young (Simon & Schuster, $27.50). Literary Food Writing: “The Cook and the Gardener” by Amanda Hesser (W.W. Norton & Co., $32.50). Single Subject: “Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook” by Martha Stewart with Susan Spungen (Clarkson Potter, $35). Wine, Beer or Spirits: “Italian Wines 1998” by Daniele Cernilli and Carlo Petrini (Gambero Rosso, $24.95). First Book: “The French Laundry Cookbook” by Thomas Keller with Susie Heller and Michael Ruhlman (Artisan, $50).