The glittering Diamond Awards Gala Dinner was held on Saturday at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. It was the sixth annual Diamond Awards from HEFF, the food group for the heart of England, which celebrates the best of local food and drink from across Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Birmingham and Black Country. This year also marked the 15th anniversary of HEART of ENGLAND fine foods.
There were 15 accolades up for grabs on the night including 10 product awards, three business awards, a retail and a hospitality award. The evening was hosted by Joanne Malin from BBC Midlands Today.
The big winner of the night was Herefordshire’s Rowlestone Farmhouse Ice Cream, which scooped the overall Special Diamond Award for TASTE for its Raspberry Sorbet. The product won the Desserts category, sponsored by The Gastro Card, and then went head to head with the winners of the eight other product categories in a separate taste test before being declared as the overall winner for TASTE.
Winners:
The Wood Brewery (Shropshire) – Christmas Cracker
Alcoholic Drinks winner
Louis Barnett Chocolate (Staffordshire) – Saffron Chocolate
Bakery and Confectionery winner
Scrummy Stuff (Worcestershire) – Damson Chutney
Cotswold Gold (Worcestershire) – White Truffle Oil
Joint Condiments and Preserves winners
Tiresford Guernsey Gold (Cheshire) – Live Natural Cheshire Yoghurt
Dairy winner
Rowlestone Farmhouse Ice Cream (Herefordshire) – Raspberry Sorbet
Desserts winner
Paul and Kirsty’s Perfect Night In (Gloucestershire) – Fillet Steak
Meat, Poultry and Game winner
The Sauce Queen (Cheshire) – Proper Porcini Mushroom Sauce
Prepared Foods winner
Creating Taste (Birmingham) – Beef and Ale Pie
Forest Pig Charcuterie (Worcestershire) – Shopshire Coppa
Prepared Meats joint winners
Story Brands (Staffordshire) – White Grape and Elderflower Presse
Soft drinks winner
Essington Fruit Farm (West Midlands)
Special Diamond Award RETAIL winner
Ye Olde Steppes (Herefordshire)
Special Diamond Award HOSPITALITY winner
Tyrrells Potato Crisps (Herefordshire)
Special Diamond Award GROW winner
Hedonist Bakery (Herefordshire)
Special Diamond Award INNOVATE winner
Croome Cuisine (Worcestershire)
Special Diamond Award EXCEL winner
Rowlestone Farmhouse Ice Cream (Herefordshire)
Special Diamond Award TASTE winner
All the products were taste tested by more than 60 judges, including retail, hospitality and food service buyers, chefs, other industry specialists and consumers, at a two day judging in February at Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre.
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