A mouth-watering array of food and drink products has been tried and tasted in the judging of the deliciouslyorkshire Awards 2012.
Award-winning chefs, producers, retailers and food and drink writers spent two full days judging 280 entries submitted in 19 award categories recognising among others, farmshops, meat, poultry and game producers, deliciouslyorkshire brand champion, outstanding newcomer and the overall supreme product of 2012.
The 15-strong independent judging panel includes Alison Sawyer, local sourcing and technical manager for ASDA which is the awards main sponsor this year.
Alison said:
At Asda, we’re very proud of the range of locally produced goods available in our stores right across the country. By forging relationships with local producers we are able to bring our customers the best products that are grown, reared or manufactured in their region. It’s fantastic to see such a depth of range of high quality goods from producers across our county in the deliciouslyorkshire Awards.
The eagerly-anticipated shortlisted entries will be announced in early September with the winners announced at the Awards dinner on 25 October at the National Railway Museum, York.
Judging panel chairman Elaine Lemm, a renowned food writer and former chef, said:
Never has there been a more important time to support the deliciouslyorkshire Awards; to showcase the best of food in the county. Food producers, retail and the hospitality industry in Yorkshire are not immune to the downturn we are currently experiencing in the UK, yet despite the tough conditions, innovation thrives and standards just keeping get higher. These are set to be the most exciting awards yet.
Radio Two foodie Nigel Barden is also a judge, and will compère the Awards evening, Nigel said:
Yorkshire is a great agricultural county and it’s marvellous to witness how diversely it’s increasingly outstanding produce is being used.
It’s a privilege to be involved in the tasting and on the Awards evening when the hard graft and talent of the producers is celebrated. There’s much to cheer on the Yorkshire culinary scene.
Tim Bilton, of the Butchers Arms, Hepworth, West Yorkshire and a BBC2 Great British menu chef, is one of six award-winning chefs taking part in this year’s judging and was last year’s deliciouslyorkshire brand champion.
Tim, who for the first time has entered four of his own products in the condiments category:
Winning the award has been great for me – it puts you out there and gets you noticed and that’s good for business.
I’ve been a judge for three years now and I never tire of seeing what other people are doing and what’s new to the market
Deliciouslyorkshire aims to increase awareness of the fantastic range of food and drink from Yorkshire and Humber. The brand can only be used by companies producing food and drink within the region and enables consumers to source produce of local provenance at-a-glance. Membership starts at £200 for companies which have been trading for under two years. New members will receive their first entry to the awards free of charge.
The judges for the deliciouslyorkshire Awards 2012 are:
- Elaine Lemm – food writer, former chef and chair of judges
- Nigel Barden – BBC Radio 2 foodie
- Alison Sawyer – Local sourcing and technical manager, ASDA
- Tim Gittins – International Wine and Food Society
- Tim Bilton – chef, The Butchers Arms, Hepworth
- Rob Green – chef, Green’s Restaurant, Whitby
- Lionel Strub – chef, Mirabelle, Harrogate
- Stephanie Moon – chef, Rudding Park, Harrogate
- Matthew Benson Smith – chef, Dean Clough Cookery School, Halifax
- Luke Downing – chef, Dough Bistro, Leeds
- Joan Ransley – food and drink writer
- Paul Gilligan – Transfresh, retail distributor
- Maxine Gordon – food and drink writer, York Evening Press
- Valerie Aston – Proudfoot Group, supermarket retailer
- Jane Chamberlain – Cicada Communications, Harrogate
