In 1972, soon after the death of André Simon, the André Simon Memorial Fund was set up. It was started as a charitable fund by a group of people who felt that the memory of André Simon should be perpetuated. One objective of the Fund is to benefit the public generally in the fields of food and drink, and one of the ways in which the Fund meets this objective is through its Book Awards.

The winner of each category (Food; Wine, Drinks and Beverages) at the André Simon Book Awards 2007 will be awarded a prize of £2000 and there will also be £200 for each short-listed book.

The awards will be presented in the Spring of 2008.

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In the Sunday Times this weekend the book is described as a 'gem of a book [that] mixes alluring Persian recipes with tales of modern Iran and insights about running a corner shop in southeast London. What makes Persia in Peckham so gripping is the engaging authorial voice of Sally Butcher, who explains everything from persimmons to pickles with zip and charm. A university dropout, Butcher married an Iranian and together they run a magical bazaar on Peckham high street called Persepolis. The recipes (which are extremely doable in a Claudia Rodenish way) reflect the food that the couple sells: moreish tahini dips and broad bean pulao, spicy kofta meatballs, sticky honeyed pastries, sour-cherry jam and cooling sherbets. Like a great corner shop, the book is stuffed with unexpected treats – little asides on cinema in Iran, or the link between the Iranian love of saffron fudge and the large number of Iranian dentists'

The book was also named by Charles Campion in The Independent on Sunday this weekend, as one of his favourite cookbooks for Christmas; as one of Time Out's Cookbooks for Christmas and also by Kate Colquhoun in the Telegraph's round up of great Cookbooks for Christmas. Kate described Sally's book as weaving 'good recipes ... with great insights into a captivating culture'.