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Working with André
Special accommodation rates for IWFS members
AJA Symons - the Society's Other Founder by Philip Clark IWFS Members Naval & Military Club Room Rates Asparagus and the Art of Good Living- Edward Heron-Allen
Overview: |
About the Society The
International Wine & Food Society is the world’s oldest and most renowned
gastronomic society.
The Society’s mission is the promotion of a broad knowledge and
understanding of both wine and food, the enhancement of their appreciation, and
the nurturing of comraderie among those who share the pleasures of the table. André
L. Simon The
Society was founded in 1933 by André L. Simon, CBE, Legion d’Honneur
(1877-1970), who was renowned as a bibliophile, gourmet, wine connoisseur,
historian and writer.
In his words, the purpose of the Society “is to bring together and
serve all who believe that a right understanding of good food and wine is an
essential part of personal contentment and health, and that an intelligent
approach to the pleasures and problems of the table offers far greater rewards
than the mere satisfaction of appetite.” Born
in Paris, Simon went to London in 1902 as the English agent for the champagne
house of Pommery and Greno.
A year later, the editor of the Wine and Spirit Trade Review commissioned
Simon to write articles on the history of the champagne trade in England.
He ultimately wrote over 100 books and pamphlets on wine and food, and
his library of wine books is one of the finest ever assembled. With
the help of his friend A.J.A. Symons, Simon developed the idea of forming a wine
and food society.
Thus, the Society was born, with Simon responsible for the dinners and
tastings and for editing its quarterly journal.
Symons became the Society’s first secretary. Simon
believed that “a man dies too young if he leaves any wine in his cellar.”
In keeping with this philosophy, he left only two magnums of claret when
he died at age ninety-three. Organization “André’s
Wonderful Invention” attracted 232 members within three weeks of the
Society’s inception.
In not too many years, The Wine & Food Society had evolved into The
International Wine & Food Society.
Simon’s energy and charm ultimately enabled him to generate branches
throughout the world so that today there are more than 8,000 members in 150
branches in 40 countries.
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