International

International Wine and Food Society
The Beginnings – 1933-1947


The Wine and Food Society, later the International Wine and Food Society, was founded in London, England, by André Simon in 1933. He set the official date as October 20, and plans for the first event were made over dinner at the home of The Dowager Lady Swaythling in Kensigton Court on October 31. In attendance with André and his wife was AJA Symons, the Society’s cofounder and first Secretary. In January 1934, a Society banquet for nearly 400 people was held at the Savoy in London, launching from a small nucleus an international organization which burgeoned to proportions that even André initially could not have imagined.

 

At that time, the Society was the world’s only association of gastronomic enthusiasts not associated commercially with the wine and food trade. Today, there are hundreds of organizations that fit this category, but the International Wine and Food Society remains the most prestigious, most widespread, independent gastronomic society in the world.

 

The very thought of a society for wine and food was, in the early 1930s, a bold idea indeed. That period was not a propitious time in which to start an international association of gastronomes. Nazi Propaganda Minister Goering spoke of “guns before butter”, children were being told that nasty tasting food was good for them, and anything that smacked of extravagance was distinctly unfashionable.

 

André rose to the occasion. Although some considered him an eccentric, he espoused a philosophy that worked during that era of austerity and has continued to appeal since. He urged high culinary standards while deploring waste, declaring it criminal to ruin valuable foodstuffs by bad preparation. He believed that quality could and should be maintained while adjusting to restraints impose by the economic circumstances of the day – with dispensation, of course, for the occasional special feast.

 

His position was always one of moderation and simplification. Although he was brought up in a period of long, elaborate meals, he eschewed the proliferation of complex dishes, preferring a restrained sequence of wines to accompany a limited number of courses. He took his aperitifs (champagne if at all possible) without hors d’oeuvres. A proper dinner, he insisted, should begin with soup, and the fish to follow required only the most basic preparation. He served lesser wines at the beginning and reserved the mature, noble ones for the main course and the cheese. He enjoyed sauternes with dessert, and cognac – or more often port – afterward. He was able to adapt to simpler fare with facility, indeed with approval, and it was always quality, not quantity, that mattered.

 

While his philosophical outlook made him well suited to the times, it was surely the sheer power of his personality that forged and sustained the Society in those early years. His skilled diction, his witty conversation and his entertaining stories, all delivered with a disarmingly engaging French accent, opened doors for him; his knowledge and dedication gained him the respect that kept the doors open wide.

 

In 1934, André traveled to the United States where he founded a New York branch on December 11, a Chicago branch on December 17 and a Boston branch. On January 9, 1935, he founded a San Francisco branch, then a Los Angeles branch on January 22. Los Angeles changed its name to Southern California some years ago and a new Los Angeles branch was initiated in 1996. There was much he enjoyed about the United States, but he disapproved the Americans’ affinity for iced water and hard spirits. Wine, he insisted, was a natural beverage. Dry martinis were not.

 

International Wine and Food Society
Today


In the Americas, there more than 75 branches of the IW&FS throughout the United States, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico, with a total membership of nearly 4,000. IWFS Americas, is the governing body that oversees the activities of these branches.

 

The primary activities of the IW&FS are events organized by individual branches. IWFS Americas encourages program exchanges between branches, offers ideas for new and interesting events and approves awards for special members, outstanding chefs and memorable occasions.

 

IWFS Americas publishes a quarterly newsletter Wine, Food & Friends and maintains the Americas section of the Society’s web site. It has also established an educational foundation that provides scholarships for students in oenology (Scholarships) and the culinary arts.

The mission of IWFS Americas is to foster the growth of the International Wine and Food Society in the Americas and to facilitate the precepts of the Founder, Andre Simon. Outside of the Americas, internationally, there are 130 branches in 30 countries with over 3,000 members in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.