Seafoodpedia. Photo: À Point Books

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards at the Louvre in Paris–the so-called “Oscars of art cookbooks”–crowned Seafoodpedia – a design cookbook edited by Shalom Maharovsky, owner and founder of Mul-Yam (Across the Sea) restaurant in the Tel Aviv Port – as the Best in the World in the fish and seafood category.

“This is the first time that an Israeli book wins first place in the most prestigious competition of its kind in the world,” said Dan Alexander, who designed the book. “The competition organizers said that ‘Seafoodpedia is intriguing, and positions Israel in the center of the culinary global map. The culinary guide of Mul Yam, published by À Point Books, is a must for anyone who defines himself as a culinary connoisseur.”

The book hasn’t been translated yet so the recipes, created by Yoram Nitzan, chef at Mul Yam, are all in Hebrew.

Mul Yam wasn’t the only winner with ties to Israel:  Israeli-Arab team of chefs Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi took top honors for Mediterranean Cuisine. Gourmand awarded them Best in the World for their book, Jerusalem: A Cookbook , which was published in England.