LYME Regis author and former River Cottage head chef Gill Meller has won a national award for his cook book.

Gill was awarded Best Debut Food Book at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards for his book Gather, which celebrates the best of British seasonal food.

Gill's book features 120 recipes all inspired by Dorset and Devon and showcases simple, honest dishes made from natural, abundant foods.

The book showcases recipes inspired by the landscapes in which he lives and works.

The awards were presented by BAFTA award winner Claudia Winkleman. The illustrious event, held at the flagship store in Piccadilly, celebrates the very best writers, publishers, presenters, image-makers and personalities working in food and drink today.

Of the 14 awards, only the TV Personality of the Year is chosen by the public.

Of the 55,000 votes cast, the lion’s share went to one of our most famous cooking duos, Dave Myers and Simon King, AKA ‘The Hairy

Bikers’.

The winners of the remaining 13 categories are chosen by an independent panel of experts including Susy Atkins, Ryan Chetiyawardana, Florence Knight, Dan Saladino, Marcus Wareing and Will Lyons, chaired by Ewan Venters, CEO of Fortnum & Mason. To be eligible, work must have been published or broadcast

during 2016.

The Cookery Book prize went to prolific food writer Diana Henry for her book SIMPLE: effortless food, big

flavours.

Made at the judge’s discretion, the Judges’ Choice was presented to The Real Junk Food Project which

aims to divert at least some of the 1.3 billion tonnes of food lost or wasted every year into tasty and

healthy meals.

The new Visual category celebrates food and drink in pictures. Jonathan Gregson snapped up the award

for his work in Waitrose Food, marcuswareing.com, Cereal and the book, Marcus Wareing At Home.

Restaurant Writer was awarded posthumously to the renowned Sunday Times food critic, AA Gill.

Fortnum & Mason CEO, Ewan Venters said: “This year’s winners demonstrate the real breadth of talent and unique voices we have in the UK. We’re thrilled to have created such a pivotal event in the food and drink calendar.”