Innovative Australian food products have been rewarded at the 2017 Delicious Produce Awards held in Melbourne this week.

The awards, run by NewsCorp’s Delicious magazine, recognise the best in Australian dairy, produce, seafood and other foods annually. Leaders in the Australian food industry judge the awards with the 2017 panel including Maggie Beer, Matt Moran, Colin Fassnidge and Matt Preston.

This year’s major winner, the recipient of the Producer of the Year Award, was Ocean Grown Abalone for its Ranched Greenlip Abalone. Ocean Grown Abalone harvests its abalone on artificial refers in Flinders Bay, Western Australia, and received heavy praise from the 2017 judging panel.

Innovation and native produce key to winners

Editor-In-Chief of Delicious, Kerrie McCallum, said innovation continued to be an important factor among many of the 2017 winners.

“The other trend we have seen, and felt it important to recognise with the introduction of its own award, was the cultivation of extraordinary native produce,” McCallum said.

“As chefs and consumers alike are becoming increasingly aware of the providence of what they cook with and eat, it’s so exciting to see so many producers harnessing native produce that is both seasonal and sustainable,” she said.

This year’s awards featured four main categories – From the Dairy, From the Earth, From the Paddock and From the Sea. Other categories included Best New Product, In the Bottle, Outstanding Design and Outstanding Innovation. A full list of trophy winners and gold medallists is listed below.

 

Complete list of 2017 Delicious Produce Award gold medallists and trophy winners

FROM THE DAIRY
TROPHY WINNER
Cedar Street Cheeserie A Love Supreme

FROM THE DAIRY
GOLD MEDALLISTS
High Valley Mudgee Cheese Co Fetta
Hindmarsh Valley Dairy Bo Peep Sheep’s Milk Cheese
Holy Goat Nectar Cheese
Pyengana Dairy Company 12+ Months Tasty Cheddar
Schulz Organic Farms Organic Full Cream Milk

FROM THE EARTH
TROPHY WINNER
Randall Organic Rice Koshihikari

FROM THE EARTH
GOLD MEDALLISTS
Angelica Organic Farm Heirloom Carrots and Beetroots
Cygnet Mushroom Farm Gourmet Specialty Mushrooms
Epicurean Harvest Organic Shimonita Negi
(The One Year Onion)
Glenora Heritage Produce Large Leaf Rocket (Arugula)
Meru Miso Sweet White Shiro
Newcastle Greens Micro Greens and
Calvin Lamborn Snap Greens
Ngeringa Vineyards Biodynamic Mixed Salad Leaves
Parkesbourne Produce Alpine Strawberries
Pretty Produce Leaf Mix and Edible Flowers
The Fermentary Fig and Ginger Water Kefir
The Lime Caviar Company Finger Limes
Transition Farm Minutina (Leafy Greens)
Trewhella Farm Biodynamic ‘Brigitte’ Blueberries
Wellington Apiary Leatherwood Pure Tasmanian Honey
Weston Farm Smoked Paprika

FROM THE PADDOCK
TROPHY WINNER
Piccolo Farm Pastured Quail

FROM THE PADDOCK
GOLD MEDALLISTS
Camden Valley Veal Rosé Veal
Mayura Station Full-Blood Wagyu Beef
Moorlands Biodynamic Lamb Biodynamic Texel Lamb
Papanui Open Range Eggs
Springfield Deer Farm Venison
Sher Wagyu F1 Black Label Wagyu
U Goose Free Range Whole Dressed Goose
Warialda Beef Belted Galloway Beef

FROM THE SEA
TROPHY WINNER
Richard Hamilton Spanner Crab

FROM THE SEA
GOLD MEDALLISTS
SeaBounty Australian Blue Mussels
South Coast Sea Urchins Ozi Uni Sea Urchin Roe
Tathra Oysters Nelson Lake 5 Year Old Sydney Rock Oysters

BEST NEW PRODUCT
TROPHY WINNER
Camden Valley Veal Rosé Veal

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
TROPHY WINNER
Ocean Grown Abalone Ranched Greenlip Abalone

IN THE BOTTLE,
PRESENTED BY QANTAS EPIQURE
TROPHY WINNER
MAiDENii Classic Vermouth

OUTSTANDING DESIGN,
PRESENTED BY QT MELBOURNE
TROPHY WINNER
Cone 11 Ceramics

OUTSTANDING FARMERS’ MARKET
TROPHY WINNER
Harvest Launceston Community Farmers’ Market, TAS

OUTSTANDING FARMERS’ MARKET
FINALISTS
Albany Farmers Market, WA
SAGE Farmers Market Moruya, NSW
Willunga Farmers Market, SA

OUTSTANDING REGION,
PRESENTED BY TAMAR VALLEY
TROPHY WINNER
Adelaide Hills, SA

OUTSTANDING INNOVATION,
PRESENTED BY MIELE
TROPHY WINNER
The Lime Caviar Company

UNEARTHED NEXT GEN CHEF
TROPHY WINNER
Josh Niland, Saint Peter

OUTSTANDING NATIVE PRODUCER
TROPHY WINNER
Warren & Ewa Jones, Tumbeela Native Bushfoods

OUTSTANDING ARTISAN,
PRESENTED BY THE HERALD SUN
TROPHY WINNER
Sharon Flynn, The Fermentary

THE ALLA WOLF-TASKER FOUNDATION
DELICIOUS. PRODUCE AWARDS
SCHOLARSHIP 2017
Michael & Cressida McNamara, Pecora Dairy, NSW

MAGGIE BEER AWARD FOR
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION
TROPHY WINNER
Will Studd

NATIONAL JUDGING PANEL
Maggie Beer, Awards Patron
Matt Moran, 2017 Ambassador
Ashley Palmer-Watts, International Guest Judge
Guillaume Brahimi
Peter Gilmore
Christine Manfield
Alla Wolf-Tasker
Shannon Bennett
Andrew McConnell
Colin Fassnidge

EXPERT PANEL
Anthony Puharich (Vic’s Meat)
John Susman (Fishtales)
Sally Gosper (Simon Johnson Providore)

WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE CRITICS PANEL
Matt Preston (senior editor, delicious.)
Anthony Huckstep (delicious. critic)
Mike Bennie (delicious. drinks writer)
Jane Adams
John Lethlean
Ross & Sunny Lusted (The Bridge Room, Sydney)
Simon Marnie
Simon Wilkinson (The Advertiser)
Dan Stock (Herald Sun)
 

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