The books began arriving at my cottage at the beginning of the year. The first batch was so enormous I could only just see the postman’s head poking over the top when they were delivered. The rest dribbled in during the following days, one by one and two by two. They were entries for the Guild of Food Writers’ Awards 2013. They kept me busy for some considerable time.

As a member of the Guild I occasionally get the chance to join several others in judging one of the many categories up for an annual award that celebrates excellence in the field of food writing and broadcasting. The awards were established in 1996 and are the only ones judged entirely by professional food writers, journalists and editors. This annual event rates as the UK’s biggest food book, writing and media awards. The categories include Cookery Book of the Year, Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year, Food Blog of the Year Award, Food Book of the Year Award, Food Broadcast of the Year Award, Jeremy Round Award for Best First Book, New Media Award and Michael Smith Award for Work on British Food. There’s even one for Restaurant Reviewer of the Year and the Food Blog of the Year.

The interesting thing about the entrants now is that the list of winners are reflecting the increasing importance of online publishing, with the award for Food Journalist of the year going to Noah May for work published in digital magazine The Arbuturian. Winners also included both well-known and emerging figures in food. The food broadcast award went to Ken Hom and Cing-He Huang for Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure, made by Keo Films for BBC Two. Each winner was presented with a beautifully engraved glass trophy and a prize of £500 in a ceremony at the luxurious restaurant RIBA, Portland Place, London. I was involved in the Jeremy Round Award Best First Book, which proved a fascinating, if a somewhat formidable task, as it attracted entries from across the entire spectrum of food writing and broadcasting. As the books began piling up on my dining room table, I tentavely opened the nearest one and began flicking the pages. It was Love Italian Food by Maddalena Caruso (Jacqui Small £30), that was overflowing with vibrant mouthwatering photographs depicting the joys of Mediterranean foods taken by Stefano Seata. I loved the fact that this delightful book devoted an entire chapter to pomegranates, including a cod tartare created from preserved lemon and pomegranate seeds. It proved a perfect starter, but as the author suggests it can also act as “a main course with attitude”. That was the first dish with attitude I have served – great fun!

The winning publication in this category was The Art of The Restaurateur, written by the Financial Times restaurant critic Nicholas Lander, (Phaidon £24.95) who has written a really splendid book. Ironically this publication, which introduces the reader to 20 restaurants from around the world, does not rely on glossy coloured photographs to gain its points – simple line drawings say everything and Nicholas Lander’s ability to breathe life in to the words on every page does the rest. Having written the popular restaurant column in the Financial Times for the past 21 years and having been a restaurateur himself (he owned L’Escargo in Soho during the 1980s), he certainly appreciates the business both as a customer and a proprietor. Perhaps it’s apt that his book opens with a visit to Ireland and the country house establishment Ballymaloe, given that its founder and director of the Ballymaloe Cookery School Darina Allen won the Guild’s top accolade this year – the Lifetime Achievement award. Madalene Bonvini-Hamel’s The British Larder: A Cookbook for all Seasons (Absolute Press £30) was our second choice and Catherine Phipps’ The Pressure Cooker Cookbook (Ebury Press £18.99) our third.

Unfortunately I didn’t attend the awards ceremony as Barnaby my puppy still can’t be trusted to not to eat the furniture if left on his own for too long. He has already declared his fondness for chewing cookery books, especially ones filled with delicious coloured photographs. I have, nevertheless, gained a grand collection of new books to add to my library.