The Gourmand World Cookbook Award

Pakistan’s leading independent publishers, Markings, are proud  to announce that their fifth title, also their first dessert based cook book, ‘Deliciously Yours’ by  Pakistani chocolatier Lal Majid of the eponymous Lals Chocolate, has been honoured by the prestigious Madrid base Gourmand World Cookbook Award committee as the Best Pastry Sweets Cookbook in the world - beating culinary giants Italy and France who were also shortlisted for this category at the annual  Gourmand Awards Ceremony held this year in Beijing during the first ‘Beijing Cookbook Fair’ which took place from 19th – 21st May, 2014. The cookbook was also nominated in 2 other categories: Best First Cookbook and Best Chocolate Cookbook.
This is the first time that a book from an independent Pakistani publisher has been recognised and awarded on an international platform, competing against 187 countries. Indeed the annual Gourmand Awards have established themselves as the premier cookbook recognition authority and are widely regarded by international journalists as the ‘Oscars’ of the Cookbook Awards1. 
Speaking about Pakistan’s win at the Gourmand Awards, CEO of Markings, Kiran Aman has said ‘This has been a very proud moment for us as Pakistanis- it is the first time that the work of an independent publisher from our country has been awarded internationally.  It is a great source of pride to have our work recognized by one of the world’s most prestigious authorities in cookbooks, winning  the  Gourmand Award for our first ever dessert based title.’ PR
Beijing
At the ‘Beijing Cookbook Fair’ Markings Publishing also presented their sixth title, ‘Zaiqay Frontier Ke - Dera Ismail Khan Kae Bhulay Bisray Pakwan’, translated as ‘Flavours of the Frontier - Forgotten Recipes from Dera Ismail Khan’ written by the late Pushpa Kumari Bagai. The book is a collection of Bagai’s coveted recipes, where each recipe is original and reflects the history and culture of the Hindu Pathan community of DI Khan. Markings CEO Kiran Aman presented the book and held a talk titled ‘Peace and Cookbook’ together with Atul and Dipa Bagai, the son and daughter-in-law of the late author. They discussed the execution of Bagai’s vision for the book and the culinary heritage of the Hindus of the Frontier, highlighting the cultural similarities between Pakistan and India and the importance of such books as a means of bridging the divide between the two nations. The talk was held during the conferences taking place on 20th May as part of the ‘Beijing Cookbook Fair.’
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau and endeavour to recognize and honour the best authors, publishers, food writers and all those who ‘cook with words’. The international jury that adjudicated entries in the ‘Best in the World’ categories comprised of Edouard Cointreau, Chairman of the Awards Committee, Sara Baer-Sinnott, President of the Oldways Exchange and Trust Foundation (USA) and Jean Jacques Ratier, Director of Hospitality School of Dordogne.