insideKENT Magazine Issue 33 - December 2014 | Page 82

FOOD+DRINK WINNERS OF THE TASTE OF KENT AWARDS TOP FRUIT CATEGORY ANNOUNCED The winners of Produced in Kent’s Taste of Kent Awards 2015 Garden of England Champion Top Fruit Category, sponsored by BTF Partnership, was announced this October at the National Fruit Show at Kent County Show Ground. Produced in Kent’s panel of public judges tasted 134 apples and pears from 13 varieties of apple and four varieties of pear on display at the National Fruit Show. Judges were required to rank the fruits’ flavour, juiciness and crispness, with the top 10 apples and top five pears going through to a second round, before finding an overall winner. The winners are: Garden of England Champion Top Apple: Jazz Variety Simon Bray, Monks Farm Norton, Nr Sittingbourne Garden of England Champion Top Pear: Concorde Variety Clive and Richard Edmed Horsmonden, Tonbridge L-R - Richard Thomas, BTF; Richard Edmed, Winner; and Tim Thatcher, BTF Stephanie Durling at Produced in Kent, commented: “Congratulations to the winners. The competition this year has been extremely close once again. Whilst supermarkets continue to focus on fruit appearance, the Garden of England Champion Top Fruit category is all about finding the tastiest apples and pears in Kent. The fruit on display at the show looked amazing and we focussed our judges’ attention on the flavour of the fruit, alongside the crispness and the juiciness of the fruit. We were delighted with the success of the new T aste of Kent Awards Garden of England Champion categories when they were introduced in 2014, and the 2015 award has been equally successful." Richard Thomas, partner at BTF Partnership, commented: “We are delighted once again to sponsor these awards and the quality of fruit is excellent thanks to a bumper harvest. Whilst it might be a tougher than average year for growers because of lower prices in the market, we hope English shoppers will recognise the great flavour and quality of English top fruit and look out for it when shopping.” Public voting for the Taste of Kent Awards 2015 is now open. To cast your vote, visit www.tasteofkentawards.co.uk before 2nd January 2015. HARVEST COMPLETE AT CHEGWORTH VALLEY markets and through a home delivery service across the country. All of the fruit is handpicked, which means the apples are harvested at their optimum ripeness, giving them the best flavour possible. A large proportion of the apples are used to make Chegworth Valley’s award-winning range of fruit juices, which includes single varietal juices such as Cox, Egremont Russet, and Bramley, as well as blends using other fruit and vegetables grown on the farm such as strawberries, raspberries, and beetroot. Chegworth Valley produces over two million bottles of juice each year , including a range of five certified organic juices. Apple and pear harvest is now complete at Chegworth Valley following a full two months of picking. The Kent-based farm, near Harrietsham, has plantings of over 75,000 apple and pear trees, made up of over 20 different varieties. Harvest began back in August for early varieties such as Discovery, and continued through each variety as they ripened. Bramley apples have had a particularly successful harvest – on one day, a record-breaking 200-plus bins were picked. Proprietor, David Deme, commented: “This year, harvest has been very good and the trees have been laden with fruit. We’ve been very lucky to have ideal weather The apples are sold direct from the farm at Chegworth Valley’s own shops (one at the farm gate and the other two in London), as well as via farmers’ 82 throughout the year, from blossom in the spring right through to the fruit ripening in the summer, and harvest over the last couple of months.” Pruning has now started at the farm, along with the planting of a further 9,000 trees over the coming winter, and another 13,000 at the end of 2015. A fan of Chegworth Valley's delicious produce? Show the farm your support by voting for it in the Taste of Kent Awards 2015 Kent Juice Producer category. You can vote at www.tasteofkentawards.co.uk before 2nd January 2015. For further information on Chegworth Valley, visit www.chegworthvalley.com or call the farm direct on 01622 859272.