Seafoodpedia, a comprehensive design cookbook edited by Shalom Maharovsky, owner and founder of Mul-Yam (Across the Sea) restaurant in the Tel Aviv Port, was accepted as a finalist in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards to take place in Paris at the Louvre Museum on February 21-23.

The annual Gourmand awards are considered the “Oscars” of art cookbooks, and serve as a springboard for the winners to gain international attention — and publishing contracts in overseas markets. Gourmand is the only cookbook award competition of its kind, and this year books from 171 countries were submitted as nominees.

Seafoodpedia is competing in the fish and seafood category against cookbooks from China, the Netherlands, Portugal and the Dominican Republic.

“Seafoodpedia is a masterpiece distilling many years of work on the seafront, and we believe we have set a high professional standard in creating the book that has so far reaped praise worldwide,” said Maharovsky.

The first part of the book is a photographic encyclopedia in seven different languages, offering detailed information and anecdotes about seafood and fish of various species — imported and domestic — as well as full-color images of sea creatures. The second part consists of recipes created or adapted by Mul-Yam Chef Yoram Nitzan.

Established in 1995, Mul-Yam is the only Israeli restaurant included in the Les Grandes Tables du Monde, a French listing of 158 exceptional eateries on four continents. Seafoodpedia was designed by Dan Alexander and Yair Yossefi and published in Hebrew last year by the designers’ publishing house, A Point Books.

The attention the cookbook gains from Gourmand International could lead to an English-language edition whether or not it wins in its category.