Producers from across the South West have once again excelled themselves and this week, Taste of the West has had the honour of awarding the first phase of Gold Silver and Commended Awards in the 2022 Product Awards scheme, sponsored by Old Mill.
A number of Dorset businesses have received awards in this latest round including:
- Cherry and Pecan Christmas Pudding | Gold
- Mini Mince Pies | Gold
- Honeyberry Sorbey | Gold
- Lemon Gelato | Gold
- Damson Ripple Gelato | Silver
- Vegan Brown Sugar | Silver
- Black Cow Deluxe Cheddar | Gold
- Black Cow Vodka | Gold
- Black Cow Vodka and English strawberries | Gold
- Black Cow Christmas Spirit | Silver
- Black Cow Vodka Negroni | Commended
- Peppered Butter | Gold
- Dorset Gold | Gold
- Palmers 200 | Gold
- Palmers IPA | Gold
- Tally Ho! | Gold
- The Dorset Pale | Silver
- Dorset Orchard’s Orchard Haze | Gold
- Palmers Original Ginger Beer | Gold
The annual Taste of the West Awards scheme, which has grown over the last two and a half decades to become the UK’s largest regional food and drink awards programme, helps food and drink businesses in the South West to thrive and succeed. There are 3 phases of judging (all identical and open to all producers, just with different entry deadlines) – the results of products entered into phase 1 have just been announced; products entered into phase 2 will be judged at the beginning of April; judging phase 3 is still open for entries – this is the final chance for producers to enter products in 2022. The final deadline for all online entries is Friday 6 May: https://www.tasteofthewest.co.uk/awards-2022-product-entry-form
Following the publication of the third phase of results, all the highest scoring Gold award-winning products will be judged again to determine the top three products in each class. These top three products are then judged a third time to establish the overall champion product in each class. The 26 champion products then go on to battle it out for the coveted Supreme Champion Product of 2022. Working independently and in small groups due to ongoing Covid restrictions, the judges were bowled over by the standard of entries in the first phase of this year’s judging. Some new entrants from the South West’s food and drink sector proved to be very impressive.
John Sheaves, Chief Executive of Taste of the West, commented: “This is the year for getting back to normal, however so far we seem to be surpassing ‘normal’ with award product entries up on pre-Covid levels, which is fantastic to see. Similarly, the quality of food and drink products entered so far this year is above and beyond previous years – clearly a sign that producers have been working hard to improve products ready for a buoyant post-Covid marketplace. We’re looking forward to the next couple of phases of judging as we complete round one of our annual awards processes. The game is on!”
This year’s Awards are title sponsored by Old Mill Financial Experts, who share Taste of the West’s passion for supporting local food and drink businesses from the West Country. Phil Mills, Head of the Food & Drink team at Old Mill commented “Our people are passionate about the South West’s food and drink sector. The strength and resilience of producers across the West Country has further established the region as industry leading, and these awards are fantastic in recognising that. We are delighted to have continued our partnership with Taste of the West through which we can further support the sector as it continues to evolve.”
