Taste of Kent Awards results

The annual Taste of Kent awards took place last night and here we can now reveal the TOKA18 winners!

The Taste of Kent Awards 2018 took place last night at Kent Events Centre.

The event has had a massive response from the public, proving that Kent is passionate about it’s home grown, home crafted food.

Just to show how many businesses and products were voted, here is a short list:

• 56 beers from 25 different breweries
• 60 butcher shops
• 32 ciders by 14 different cider makers
• 117 dining pubs/bistros
• 58 food producers
• 53 retailers
• 122 restaurants
• 24 juices from 19 different companies
• 21 wines from 8 different vineyards

 

But there had to be winners selected which are as follows:

Kent Beer of the Year, sponsored by Eurostar
Gadds No.3 – Ramsgate Brewery

Kent Butcher Shop of the Year, sponsored by Hadlow College

S.W.Doughty – Doddington
Kent Cider or Perry of the Year, sponsored by Wilkins Kennedy LLP

Elderflower Cider – Turners Cider – Marden
Kent Food Producer of the Year, sponsored by Shopper Anonymous

Bessie’s Tea Parlour – Broadstairs
Kent Local Food Retailer of the Year, sponsored by Opies

Austen’s of Rochester – Rochester
Kent Tastiest Juice of the Year, AC Goatham & Son
Spiced Apple Juice – Owlets Fruit Juice – Lamberhurst

Kent Wine of the Year, sponsored by NFU Mutual

Bacchus – Chapel Down – Tenterden
Kent Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by Thomson, Snell & Passmore

The Buoy & Oyster – Margate

Kent Pub or Bistro of the Year, sponsored by University of Kent

The Ferry House Inn, Isle of Sheppey

 

Kent Food Product Classes, sponsored by Shepherd Neame

Speciality Drinks Class: Craft Mead with Kent Golding Hops, Marourde

Highly Commended Specialist Drinks: Canterbury Gin by Canterbury Brewers and Distillers

Ambient Class: Oak Smoked Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil, Pure Kent – Staplehurst

Prepared Food Class: Habanero Chilli Biltong, North Downs Real Food – Lenham

Dairy Class: Pure Whole Milk, Plurenden Manor Farm – High Halden

Bakery & Confection Class: Stoneground Wheat and Barley Flour, Pure Kent -Staplehurst

 

Best Kent Food Product of the Year, sponsored by HSBC

A product selected by the judging panel as the overall winner from all the entries in the Kent Food Product Classes.

Best Kent Food Product of the Year winner Craft Mead with Kent Goldings Hops, Marourde – Merrywort

 Kent Countryside Award, sponsored by Kent Downs and High Weald AONBs

AC Goatham & Son, Medway and Roundoak & Kings Oak Farm Sutton Valance

plus a unique Kent Countryside Community Award goes to Spadeworks, Offham

 

There was also an extra special award:

Produced in Kent Special Award goes to William Opie @OpiesFoods

 

The event was massively supported by local and national companies, showing the sheer popularity the award has amassed. Cripps LLP were the main sponsors and had this to say:

Victoria Symons at Cripps comments: “A nomination to the Taste of Kent Awards shortlist is a huge achievement, indicative of the real passion consumers in the region have for top quality food and drink. The nominees should feel rightly proud of the proverbial pat on the back they have received, and with so many outstanding entries we look forward to the big event with excitement.”

 

Other sponsors included:

Biddenden vineyards, BTF Partnership, Eurostar, A C Goatham, Hadlow College Commercial Farms, Hadlow Group, HSBC, Kent County Agricultural Society, NFU Mutual, Opies, Shepherd Neame, Shopper Anonymous, Synecore; Thomas, Snell & Passmore; The university of Kent, Wilkins Kennedy LLP, High Wealdt AONB, The Kent Downs AONB, Kent Event Centre

 

For more information on the awards and the outstanding companies that won or were shortlisted please go to http://www.tasteofkentawards.co.uk