South West food and drink producers 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 2021 Product Awards scheme, title sponsored by Old Mill.
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. Products entered in the second phase of judging are being sampled and tasted later this month (June 2021), and a further list of results is due to be announced in July. Following the publication of this further list 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 27 champion products then go on to battle it out for the coveted Supreme Champion Product of 2021.
Working independently due to Covid restrictions, the judges have been blown away this year by some fantastic, innovative new products from South West food and drink producers, including our very own The Book & Bucket Cheese Company, who received Gold for their Huxley, Huxley Fire and Shakespeare cheeses and Silver for their Hardy cheese.
Other Dorset Food and Drink members to have been named in this year’s awards include:
- Baboo Gelato, who have received Gold for their Vegan Chocolate Gelato, Orange Sorbet, Vegan Vanilla Gelato and Coffee Gelato.
- Meggy Moo’s, who have received Gold for their Skimmed Milk, Dorset Double Cream and Sea Salted Butter
- Jurassic Coast Farm Shop, who received Gold for their Dry Cured Gammon Joint and Silver for their Pork Cumberland Sausages, Unsmoked Dry Cure Back Bacon and Aberdeen Angus Burgers
- Weymouth 51, who received Silver for their Dorset Fire Tonic and Commended for their Kimchi
- Shanty Spirit, who received Silver for their Seaweed Botanical Vodka
- Palmer’s Brewery, who received Silver for their Tally Ho! 500 ml, Palmer’s 200, Dorset Pale and their Original Ginger beer and Commended for their IPA 500ml and Dorset Gold
- The Dorset Ginger Company, who received Gold for their Raspberry with a hint of Ginger and their Rhubarb with a ginger kick and Silver for their 50% less sugar strong ginger.
So far, and bear in mind there are around 400 products still to be judged this month, Taste of the West has awarded 351 Gold awards, 138 Silver awards and 59 Commended awards to products made in the West Country as part of this year’s Taste of the West Awards.
Please click here to view the list of winning products.
John Sheaves, Chief Executive of Taste of the West, commented: “This year Taste of the West is celebrating its 30th anniversary and are incredibly proud to be the UK’s largest independent regional food group. Times change but our values don’t – for 30 years we have been working together with support from our members, sponsors and partners for a sustainable future in South West food and drink. The results so far from this year’s Taste of the West Product Awards are a true reflection of the provenance, quality and integrity that food and drink producers in the West Country have to offer.”
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: “Despite all of the challenges over the last 12 months the quality of the produce is better than ever. We have seen producers adapt in ways we would never have thought possible, ensuring that the West Country continues to lead the way in the UK food and drink industry. Old Mill 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.”
