Catherine's Food and Nutrition Companion wins prestigious Bruce Chandler Prize

I'm thrilled to share with you that on 22 June 2014 the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) awarded my Food and Nutrition Companion the Bruce Chandler Book Prize for best food writing in an area related to nutrition and/or food technology.

Who was Bruce Chandler?

I knew Dr Chandler from my days with the Bread Research Institute (BRI) at their grassy campus in North Ryde in Sydney’s north. I was only a junior dietitian in my second job while he was a scientist at the then CSIRO Food Research Labs - which was across the road from the BRI.

He hardly knew me but always said “hello” if I passed him in the corridors on my way to the expansive library at their Lab (pre-Google and pre-internet days, don't forget).

I always enjoyed sitting in on the various talks given by visiting food researchers and statisticians and Dr Chandler would often pose a question to them or suggest alternative ways to find a solution to a tricky problem. He always struck me as a kind, big-hearted man with a formidable mind and an engaging manner.

What I didn't know was that he enjoyed literature in all its forms and loved books and reading (like me). It wasn’t just technical reports and research studies that interested him, but also the art of good writing as communication - something dear to my own heart.

Dr Chandler never had any children and so upon his passing in 2003, he bequeathed a portion of his estate to the AIFST to establish the Prize now named after him.

Why this prize means so much to me

It's so nice that my book which was primarily written for people like you – my website and newsletter readers – normal, everyday people who are interested in food, nutrition, health and wellbeing, has also found its place among food technologists, who are interested in the science of food processes and who organise the large-scale production of food that our world depends on.

After many years of dedicating myself to writing about the issues surrounding food and nutrition, I really am humbled and feel very honoured that one of my books has been acknowledged in this way and I hope it proves a handy desk reference for food technologists and scientists alike.

Background on Dr Bruce Chandler, FAIFST 1925-2003 

Bruce Chandler began a career in food research, with the CSIRO Division of Food Preservation and Transport as it then was, in 1946, directly after graduation with a B Sc Honours degree in Organic Chemistry from Sydney University. He retired in 1986 after 40 years’ service.

He passed away after a brief illness on 11 January 2003. Bruce acquired wide experience in all aspects of citrus technology and achieved a reputation in Australia and overseas as an authority in this field. In 1982-87 he served as Scientific Adviser to the Trade Practices Commission during its investigation of the fruit juice industry. He is co-author of a book on The Chemical Constituents of Citrus Fruits and author or co-author of more than 50 research papers.

Bruce extended his research interests into anthocyanin pigments and other flavonoids in fruits and worked in this field at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Low Temperature Research Station at Cambridge. He also served as CSIRO representative on the Honey Research Committee and compiled a highly regarded CSIRO Technical Bulletin on the composition of Australian honeys.

In addition to his scientific achievements, Bruce contributed greatly to the camaraderie amongst the staff of the Division by organising a music club, a film group and other social activities. He was also a keen tennis player. Throughout his career, Bruce was active in AIFST serving on many committees, and in 1977 the Institute conferred on him its highest accolade, the Award of Merit.

Bruce had a long association with the journal Food Australia, first as an Associate Editor then member of the Editorial Board between 1969 and 1978. Notably he was Literature Editor for 12 years from 2001, a function which he performed with extreme dedication.

[Edited from an obituary in Food Australia from March 2003 by J. F. Kefford and B.A. Munce and reproduced with permission.]

Photography by Nicholas Hannah