A Sydenham author has won a prestigious international award for his book about Spanish restaurants in London.

Greg Watts’ Ole! Ole! Passion on a Plate: The Rise of Spanish Cuisine in London has won the Gourmand World Cookbooks Award for the UK category of Best International Cuisine. In May it will compete against books from other countries in the finals in Yantai, China.

"I’m delighted by the award, which was totally unexpected. Like any author, It’s always wonderful to receive some recognition of your work," said Greg.

In the book, he visits the warehouse of London’s oldest Spanish food importer, a jamon bar in a Bermondsey railway arch, the Belgravia kitchen of a Michelin star restaurant, a tapas bar in the gritty streets of Peckham, and the tables of Rafael Nadal’s favourite haunt.

Greg wrote the book to discover why tapas had become so popular in London and what were the secrets of good Spanish food and running a top Spanish restaurant. Meeting some of the best Spanish chefs in London inspired him to run several pop-up tapas nights at Beer Rebellion, a craft beer bar on Sydenham Road. 

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