At a packed awards reception at the Mall Galleries, London, last night, Tuesday 25 April, Bangladesh-based Shoeb Faruquee was declared overall winner of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2017 and was presented with a cheque for £5000 by Andy Macdonald, who heads up Pink Lady® in the UK, headline sponsor of the awards.
Shoeb had won the Food for Celebration category, which is sponsored by Champagne Taittinger earlier in the evening, and then went on to scoop the overall crown for his stunning image Food for God.
“The competition was fiercer than ever,” says Macdonald, “there were over 8400 images entered internationally, from over 60 countries, and the standard was phenomenal. Shoeb’s shot stood out from the rest in its category, however, for the way in which he made the subject matter – cooking for the breaking of a religious fast – both incredibly striking and atmospheric.”
The evening was compered by chair of the judges, journalist and food critic, Jay Rayner, and took place in front of more than 400 people at the Champagne Taittinger reception, many of whom had flown in from across the world for the occasion, from America, Australia, France and more.
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year is the world’s leading celebration of the art of food photography and film. In its sixth year, almost 40,000 entries have been submitted since its inception.
Judges include: Vitalie Taittinger, Marketing Director, Champagne Taittinger, David Loftus, Jamie Oliver’s photographer, culinary superstar Gary Rhodes, Emily Luchetti, Chair, James Beard Foundation, NYC, Nik Powell, Director, National Film & Television School.