Previously known as the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Awards, this prestigious competition changed its name in 1999 following the wishes of its namesake. However, Julia's support for IACP remains steadfast and she continues to lend her name to the First Book category. A jury of 33 culinary professionals, including food writers, cookbook authors, and food editors, evaluated the books against a detailed list of criteria and tested scores of recipes before arriving at the list of finalists.

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Cookbook of the Year

The French Laundry Cookbook
by Thomas Keller, Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman

American

American Home Cooking
by Cheryl Alters Jamison, Bill Jamison (Winner)
Butter Beans to Blackberries by Ronni Lundy
Prairie Home Cooking by Judith M. Fertig

Bread, Other Baking, and Sweets

Simply Sensational Desserts by Francois Payard, Tim Moriarty, Tish Boyle (Winner)
The Art of the Cake by Bruce Healy, Paul Bugat
Room for Dessert by David Lebovitz

Chefs and Restaurants

Chez Panisse Café Cookbook by Alice Waters, David Tanis (Winner)
The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller, Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman
The Tra Vigne Cookbook by Michael Chiarello, Penelope Wisner

First Book
The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller, Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman (Winner)
The Cook and the Gardener by Amanda Hesser, Kate Gridley
The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen by Grace Young

Food Reference/Technical

The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson (ed.) (Winner)
A Mediterranean Feast by Clifford Wright
Essentials of Cooking by James Peterson

General

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home by Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Chris Nussbaum (Winner)
Entertaining 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold
Country Weekend Entertaining by Anna Pump, Gen LeRoy

Health and Special Diet

A Spoonful of Ginger by Nina Simonds (Winner)
99% Fat-Free Italian Cooking by Barry Bluestein, Kevin Morrissey
Saved by Soup by Judith Barrett

International

The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen by Grace Young (Winner)
The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

Literary Food Writing

The Cook and the Gardener by Amanda Hesser, Kate Gridley (Winner)
Postcards from Kitchens Abroad by Diane Holuigue
Memories of a Lost Egypt by Colette Rossant

Single Subject

Martha Stewart's Hors d'oeuvres Handbook by Martha Stewart, Susan Spungen (Winner)
An Apple Harvest by Frank Browning, Sharon Silva
The Great Tomato Book by Gary Ibsen, Joan Nielsen