Online entries for the 2014 Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards (RMFFA) open nationally to industry on 29 April.
The RMFFA, conducted by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV), provides opportunities for boutique producers, regional specialists and commercial manufacturers to benchmark their products across nine food categories.
Entrants for the biannual awards will have until 30 May 2014 to enter. Categories include:
- Branded beef
- Branded lamb
- Dairy, sheep, goat & buffalo
- Ice cream gelato & sorbet
- Delicatessen featuring dips, tapenade, smallgoods & uncooked sausages
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Bread & baked goods
- Free range eggs, sweet & savoury preserves, featuring jams, vinegars and dressings
RASV CEO, Mark Sullivan said the awards are designed to reward and celebrate the exceptional quality of fine food being grown and produced in Australia.
“We encourage producers to enter their products and receive valuable feedback from independent industry experts. The RMFFA judging process significantly benefits producers, as does the seal of quality available for use when marketing and promoting award winning products,” Sullivan said.
The RMFFA judging panel is made up of media, industry and food technology experts and champions for both the Spring and Autumn programs will be announced at the official awards presentation on 22 September at the Royal Melbourne Show.
Last year, Victorian olive producers took home 76 medals across the extra virgin olive oil, table olives and flavoured oil categories.
Stand out producer at last year’s awards, Salute Oliva, took home a gold medal for its Kalamata Olives.
Peter Eicher from Salute Oliva, said “Winning the trophy for Champion Table Olives with our Kalamata olives saw us sell out of our entire annual production before the new season table olives even came online.”
RMFFA medal winners will have the opportunity to participate in an exclusive Buyers’ Tasting, a new initiative to provide retail sales opportunities.
Entries close 30 May. For more information, click here.