IWFS INTERNATIONAL 

 GENERAL

The International Wine & Food Society (IWFS) is the oldest and most renowned gastronomic society in the world, an association of amateurs who have as a common interest, the sharing of good food, good wine and good company.

MISSION STATEMENT

Members of the IWFS worldwide strive to ...promote a broad knowledge and understanding of both wine and food, the enhancement of their appreciation, and the nurturing of camaraderie among those who share the pleasures of the table... 

 ORIGIN

The IWFS is a worldwide organization founded in 1933 by Andre L. Simon, CBE, Legion d`Honneur (1877-1970), acknowledged as a renowned bibliophile, gourmet, wine connoisseur, historian and writer extraordinairre.  

The purpose of the Society is:

To bring together and to serve those who believe that a right understanding of wine and food is an essential part of personal contentment and health, and that an approach to the pleasures and problems of the table offers far greater rewards than mere satisfaction of appetite.

 To raise the standards of cookery by organizing periodic dinners and luncheons at hotels, restaurants and clubs when the fare and wines will be happily partnered, and when deserving chefs will be accorded a fair measure of articulate appreciation, or by such other means as the Society may decide. 

To promote a wider knowledge of the wines of the world and a more discerning appreciation of their individual merits by means of periodic tastings and visits to various vineyards, or by such other means as the Society decides.

 INTERNATIONAL STRUCTURE

Today there are more than 8,000 members in 150 branches in 40 countries. The Society has its headquarters in London where the Secretariat is situated. The Council, which is the governing body of the Society throughout the world, has six members drawn from five countries in three continents. The Secretariat staff organize Council meetings, are responsible for taking and circulating the minutes of meetings, and generally making sure that Council members are kept informed of the Society activities worldwide. As the IWFS is a company limited by guarantee, the Council members are also its directors, and the Executive Director is the company secretary.

The society is organised in three Regions; The European and African Region (EAC), The Asian Pacific Region and The American Region which, together, provide governance for the International Wine & Food Society.