Cornish
Producers Win Prestigious
Taste of the West Food & Drink Awards 2006
Over
50 of Cornwall’s best food and drink products have been awarded Taste of
the West Food & Drink Awards in the 2006 competition dedicated to
finding the South West’s best quality products. A panel of 40 judges granted 19
Gold, 20 Silver and 13 Bronze Awards to the finest food and drink products
in Cornwall out of more than 400 awards given to producers from across the six
counties of the South West.
John
Sheaves, Chief Executive of Taste of the West
says, “The South West has an exceptional food identity and a passion for
quality food and drink. From this high standard the Taste of the West Food &
Drink Awards select the products that stand above the rest and are an important
endorsement of the quality and integrity of the product and the producer.
Winning a Taste of the West Award gives producers tremendous sales and marketing
opportunities and further promotes the South West as the best place for quality
food and drink to chefs, caterers, wholesalers, retailers and the public.”
From
Cornish Blue cheese to Leg of Cornish Lamb in Rosemary Marinade and Baked
Cornish Cheesecake to Cornish Honey, 52 products were awarded Taste of the
West Food & Drink Awards, sponsored by Budgens, in nineteen
classes covering bakery and confectionery, chilled and frozen deserts, ready
meals and sauces, dairy, meat, preserves, drinks and fish.
Lemon
curd ice cream
made using Cornish milk and cream wins a Gold Award for Treleavens Luxury
Cornish Ice Cream, Looe, Cornwall. Hand made by partners Andrew and Mandy
Treleavens the ice cream has a tangy, refreshing taste. Andrew Treleavens
explains, “We are thrilled to win a Gold Award this year. We won a Gold
last year for another ice cream and so to maintain this standard is fantastic.
The Taste of the West Awards are the key benchmark representing the best of the
South West and we are passionate about Cornish food and drink, so this Award is
particularly important to us.”
All
of the Award entries were cooked and served to the panel of judges at St
Peter’s School, Lympstone, Devon
by Richie Abbott, Sous Chef at
Michael Caines Restaurant at the Royal Clarence Hotel, Exeter.
The Gold
award winners in each of the classes are judged to find the winners of the
overall category awards as well as Best
Organic Product, Best New Product and Best Packaging.
Winners of these categories are then judged again, and one will become
the Taste of the West Champion
product of 2006.
Judging
for the hospitality and retail classes of the Taste of the West Food & Drink
Awards is also underway with a panel of expert judges anonymously visiting each
outlet to look for quality of food and service, ambience, evidence of local
sourcing and the knowledge of the staff. Gold, Silver and Bronze awards are
given on a county by county basis in August with the Gold award winners going
forward to be judged again to find the Overall
Regional Winners for best B&B, Dining Pub, Tearoom, Restaurant and Local
Retail Outlet and Online Retail.
The overall award winners in the food and drink, hospitality and retail classes are announced at an awards ceremony in the autumn.