SINGAPORE – An epic tome documenting the evolution of Malay cuisine in Singapore has bagged the top prize at the 28th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Khir Johari’s The Food Of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through The Archipelago was recognised as the Best of the Best Book in the World at an awards ceremony held during the Umea Food Symposium in Sweden from May 25 to 28.

His book was also recognised for Best Asian Cuisine Cookbook, Best Culinary History Book, Best Printer (Markono) and Best Book of the Year in Singapore. The author was in the Swedish city to receive the prizes.

Known as the Oscars of the cookbook world, 2023’s sprawling awards list honours 1,140 nominees and winners in 115 categories for food and 30 for drinks. The list is selected from more than 100,000 publications from across 230 countries.

Eleven years in the making, Khir’s 621-page encyclopaedic book details well-loved and obscure dishes from across the Malay archipelago through essays as well as more than 400 photographs and 40 recipes.

Khir says: “To be recognised by an international competition and to stand among some of the most meaningful books to have been written in history, truly means so much, not just to me, but for Singapore.

“Writing The Food Of Singapore Malays allowed me to collect, consolidate and curate the Malays’ rich cultural heritage into an encyclopaedic coffee-table book that could appeal to multiple interests.”

The book is published by Marshall Cavendish International and includes a foreword by Swiss restaurateur Anton Mosimann and an afterword by Singaporean historian Faris Joraimi.

In 2022, Khir’s book was named Book of the Year at the Singapore Book Awards.

Other Singapore publications which received awards include a literary anthology celebrating Singaporean food culture, Food Republic: A Singapore Literary Banquet, which won a Special Award.

Co-editor of Food Republic Daryl Lim Wei Jie, 32, who spoke to The Straits Times on behalf of his co-editors Ann Ang and Tse Hao Guang and Landmark Books publisher Goh Eck Kheng, says: “It’s a tremendous honour, a pleasant and wonderful surprise. We did not submit the book for consideration, so it’s amazing that Gourmand International perhaps picked it up on their own.”

He adds: “Singapore is a food-obsessed nation, but we felt insufficient attention had been given to food writing as a literary art form. Hopefully, this win highlights that food writing is not simply functional, but a craft like cooking itself.”