News 
Three Scottish companies shortlisted in Country Living and Waitrose Made in Britain awards
31 July 2009
Three Scottish companies are in the running to become one of the next suppliers to Waitrose after being shortlisted for the Made in Britain Awards.
Gigha Halibut from Argyll, Lanarkshire based Simple Simon’s Heather Honey Venison pies and Highland Smoked Trout Pate have all been announced as finalists in the Country Living Magazine and Waitrose Made in Britain Awards 2009. They are among 12 finalists of the Made of Britain awards which are supported by Waitrose.
Alistair Barge, owner of Gigha Halibut has been sustainably farming endangered Atlantic Halibut for the last four years in the Hebrides; Bernard Alessi created Heather Honey Venison pies with the aim of eating pies as a complete tasty meal; Husband and wife team Craig and Heather Ireland have been farming fish organically in Inverness-shire for the last seven years and combine smoked brown trout with locally sourced crowdie cheese to make their delicious pate.
Now in its second year, the Made in Britain Awards promote and celebrate British producers, farmers and growers making the heritage foods of tomorrow.
From the finalists, five food producers will be chosen, each winning £5,000 to develop their business and the opportunity to sell their product in local Waitrose stores. The overall Made in Britain Food Champion of the year will receive a further £5,000. An additional category for the Farmers Guardian Best Farm Entrepreneur will be awarded to the farmer who can demonstrate flair, innovation and good business practice, highlighting Waitrose’s continuing support for British agriculture.
The winner of the Made in Britain Awards will be announced at the Royal County of Berkshire Show, held at the Newbury Showground in September. The winners and finalists will appear in a special Country Living Magazine supplement published with the October 2009 issue.
Last year’s Food Champion of the Year was 11-year-old Elsa Amiss and her parents Rona and Nevil of Higher Fingle Farm in Devon, who rear organic free-range ducks and also market the eggs. The duck eggs are now stocked in two West Country branches of Waitrose and some of their prize money was spent on a new website with duck egg recipe ideas.
Susy Smith, Editor of Country Living Magazine says, “Every one of the finalists in the Made in Britain Awards 2009 is producing something special. There are new takes on traditional foods, the rediscovery of lost recipes and cooking methods, the saving of rare breeds and old varieties and the ethical and sustainable farming of meat and fish – buy these foods and you can eat wonderfully well while supporting artisan producers and the rural economy.”
Richard Hodgson, Waitrose Commercial Director says “The innovation and dedication shown by this year’s finalists prove that small producers are major players in the British food arena. Against the backdrop of challenging economic conditions, each of the finalists has had to look beyond the ordinary to create a food or drink product that is extra-ordinary, which Waitrose applauds. As one of the judges I was able to taste the halibut and I am delighted that it is included in the final selection.”
Following a nationwide search for the best British food and drink producers demonstrating quality, innovation and use of traditional skills, 12 companies have been shortlisted. The finalists include Wood Berry Farm, Norfolk; Gigha Halibut, Argyll; Cairngorm Smokehouse, Highland; Simple Simon’s Perfect Pies, South Lanarkshire; Chef on the Run Foods, Powys; Alex Gooch’s Organics, Powys; Trealy Farm Charcuterie, Monmouthshire; Bramley and Gage, Gloucestershire; The Orchard Pig, Somerset; The Real Veal Company, Cornwall; The Durham Cow Cheese Company, Co. Durham and Clare’s Organics, Oxfordshire.
For more information go to www.waitrose.com/madeinbritain or see the latest issue of Country Living Magazine, on sale now.
For more information, contact:
Shaheena Abbas at Pagoda PR
Shaheena Abbas at Pagoda PR
Phone: 0207 439 5211
Email: shaheena.abbas@pagodapr.com
Notes to Editors:
About the Shortlist
Gigha Halibut, Argyll – Farmed Halibut
Argyll fish company, Gigha Halibut has been farming the endangered species of Atlantic Halibut for the last four years on Gigha, one of the most southerly Hebrides and a community-owned island. The company now accounts for 80% of all halibut produced in Scotland. The innovative, land-based fish farm is powered by the community-owned wind farm.
Simple Simon’s Perfect Pies, South Lanarkshire – Honeyed Venison Pie
Simple Simon’s Perfect Pies are created by Bernard Alessi, a former caterer and pub owner. Bernard saw a gap in the market for top-quality pies that were designed to be a meal, not a snack. All the pie fillings are casserole recipes created by him, developed following years of experience. The addition of orange to his honeyed venison casserole, shortlisted for the Made in Britain awards is inspired by his Maltese origins - he describes the island as a land of oranges - while the pairing of venison with heather honey is “a match made in heaven”.
Cairngorm Smokehouse, Highland – Roast-smoked Organic Brown Trout and Crowdie Pate
Husband and wife team, Craig and Heather Ireland, have been farming fish for the last seven years. Specialising in breeding brown trout, salmon trout and salmon they achieved organic certification two years ago. They decided to diversify from their hatchery and restocking business and began selling hot-smoked trout fillets. This led to the creation of their pate that caught the judge’s attention.
Wood Berry Farm, Norfolk – Strawberry & Blackberry Fruit Spread
Wood Berry Farm is a father and daughter team; Peter, a retired UN agricultural adviser and Catriona Dickie, a young actress who makes the conserve between roles. The pair have perfected their spread recipe and minimised sugar content to 25% or less for the reduced sugar range and used flavour neutral but naturally sweet concentrated grape juice for the no-added sugar range.
Chef on the Run Foods, Powys – Ginger Marmalade
Chef on the Run Foods, the chef being Michael Carnell, began when he and his wife took over Rachel’s aunt’s tea room. The couple began making preserves that proved such a hit they were soon selling them across the region. The Ginger Marmalade is made from British sugar and fresh ginger but also uses cooking apples, which contain pectin, a natural setting agent.
Alex Gooch’s Organics, Powys – Apple & Pumpkin Seed Rye Sourdough Bread
Alex Gooch, a 28-year old organic baker, confesses he is obsessed with bread-making. His particular speciality is producing handcrafted breads with a long, slow fermentation, using his own wild yeast cultures.
Trealy Farm Charcuterie, Monmouthshire – Trealy Salami
Hobby rare-breed pig farmers James Swift and Graham Waddington realised that air-dried products were the perfect way to use their meat. So they travelled Europe, researching this age-old technique, bringing it back to the Welsh Hills where they were joined by butcher John Standerwick. Now they sell more than 50 cured, air-dried, smoked and fresh products.
Bramley and Gage, Gloucestershire – Quince Liqueur
Started over 20 years ago on a fruit farm in South Devon, family business Bramley and Gage manufactures a range of fruit liqueurs using whole fruit with no concentrates. The family’s shortlisted Quince Liqueur uses a version of an 18th century recipe for quince ratafia. In the original recipe, quinces were shredded and allowed to start rotting before being matured for four years.
The Orchard Pig, Somerset – Sparkling Jonagold Apple Juice (Cloudy)
What originally started out as a hobby business, growing and selling apples for family and friends, soon grew into a cider & juice company producing over 100,000 bottles a year. Through their sister company, West Country Ground Force, Neil Macdonald and Andrew Quinlan manage other people’s orchards too in return for a share of their crops, which they turn into The Orchard Pig juice.
The Real Veal Company, Cornwall – Veal Escalope
A drastic lifestyle change saw husband and wife Jon and Vicky Brown leave their jobs as account manager and ambulance technician to take on a new life raising calves for veal on Vicky’s brother’s dairy farm. The male calves, which would otherwise be shot at birth, are reared on milk and cereals in open-sided barns with deep straw bedding and plenty of room to move around. The couple want to re-establish ethically-reared British veal as part of the national diet.
The Durham Cow Cheese Company, Co. Durham – Durham Blue Cheese
Julia Cammiss of The Durham Cow Cheese Company learned traditional cheese-making skills on a short course as a hobby to provide relief from a stressful office job. She sought advice from more established craft cheese makers about technique, starter cultures and moulds and went on to create the shortlisted blue cheese, an entirely new cheese from her own recipe, which is ripened in a temperature-controlled cheese room, built by her husband Barry in their garage.
Clare’s Organics, Oxfordshire – Whole Organic Chicken
Paul Sykes, who originally worked in truck sales, always wanted to do something agricultural and organic, so he and his wife Clare sold their house and rented 10 acres to set up an organic chicken farm. He buys in day-old chicks from a local organic hatchery and rears them under heat inside for the first two weeks with fresh greens to peck and straw bales to perch on.
About the awards:
§ The Made in Britain Awards are now closed, but the criteria comprised entry to any producer, provided they employed no more than 10 permanent full or part-time employees and had an annual turnover of less than £2 million.
§ Five Made in Britain Food Producers of the Year will be selected from the finalists.
§ Each will win £5,000 from Waitrose. Subject to technical approval, winners will have the opportunity to have products stocked at Waitrose.
§ The overall Made in Britain Food Champion of the Year will be chosen from these five and will receive an additional £5,000.
§ An additional category for the Farmers Guardian Best Farm Entrepreneur will be awarded to the farmer who can demonstrate flair, innovation and good business practice, who will also receive £5,000.
§ All finalists will be featured in a special booklet, free with the October 2009 issue of Country Living Magazine. Awards announcements take place on 19 September 2009.
About Country Living Magazine:
Country Living Magazine is the top-selling country lifestyle magazine, published by the National Magazine Company. The magazine has a circulation of 189,200 and readership of 850,000 and is edited by Susy Smith.
About Waitrose:
Waitrose has 213 branches across Britain, dedicated to offering quality, value and customer service. The retailer and its sister company, John Lewis, have taken the two top slots in the Which? Magazine Consumer Satisfaction Survey for the last four years and Waitrose has scooped more major wine awards than any other supermarket.
Co-owned entirely by the 69,000 'Partners' who work for the John Partnership, Waitrose combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop. Waitrose is dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service. (www.waitrose.com)
