Judging for the 2008 Mudgee Fine Food Awards took place yesterday with a panel of judges from across the local area tasting and sampling the fine food that Mudgee has to offer.
They sampled a wide variety of products, ranging from savoury jellies and jams to sweet sauces.
The food judges included, Sally Hammond who is a food critic and writer for Australian Regional Food, Tricia Hennessy from Wild Oats Café and Peter Davis from Newtown Providores in Dubbo.
All judges have a wide range of product knowledge with experience and knowledge of the fine food industry as well as previous experience judging fine foods.
President of Mudgee Fine Food Awards, John Grant, said that overall the produce submitted was of high quality.
“The produce has been outstanding and the samples chosen for awards are fantastic and the turn out of different products this year is great to see.”
Local producer and fine food provider, Peter Davis, said that he has enjoyed judging in the past especially in Mudgee and by now knows what to look for.
“The basics are presentation, flavour and aroma, and texture/mouth feel. But the end point is how well it is going to sell and the quality of the core product,” Mr. Davis said.
This will be the second year the Mudgee Fine Food Awards has run with organiser, Liz Mayberry, saying she was impressed with how many people submitted their produce and the variety and quality they showed.
“The diversity of all the products is really exciting and the fact that they have all come from Mudgee makes it all the better,” she said.
The awards for Gold, Silver and Bronze will be announced on October 19 at a dinner held at the Wineglass Bar and Grill where Mudgee residents will be able to taste the best of the best that Mudgee has to offer.