Wow! I just won the world’s top food critic prize at the international 2010 Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards.

The only global contest of its kind, the biennial World Food Media Awards honor the best food and drink journalists from around the world in 24 categories covering cookbooks, magazines, newspapers, television, digital media and photography.  Journalists, authors and television hosts from two dozen countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Canada, Belgium, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, and New Zealand. This was my third nomination and first win for my restaurant reviews in Angeleno.

According to Ian Parmenter, awards jury chairman, “The standard of entries in this year’s competition was extraordinarily high, and the international judges were faced with an enormous task, but the judges were consistent in their agreement on the winners.”

Here are the winning reviews:

Animal
“We’re definitely not going to be having sex tonight, are we?” the voluptuous Brit asks, rhetorically, as she grabs her knife and sets about carving another hunk of steak from its enormous bone. Our foursome is just starting to realize that maybe we’ve overdone it. We’ve already emptied two bottles of wine. The table is cluttered with dishes. A pan-fried pork chop has been whittled down to a single remaining bite, streaked with the remnants of creamy grits… read the full review

Rivera
By the time we settle into our corner table, tequilas in hand, I’m slightly lightheaded. I fear I’m outmatched tonight and could end up under the table. I’m dining at Rivera with The Blonde, The Sailor and a Tequila Baron. We haven’t even looked at the menus yet, and we’re already exchanging jail stories… read the full review

Gjelina
“You can stand over there by the wall,” the hostess says cheerily, pointing to a cramped, narrow path along the edge of the dining room behind a packed, boisterous communal table. “Or else you can wait outside on the sidewalk…” read the full review