Brakes celebrates after Chefs' Choice Awards
Judges praised the entry from the foodservice distributor that claimed the overall award for being "a premium product with a luxurious feel that really delivered".
Among the accolades achieved by Brakes were the award for Finished Desserts and Gateau for its White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake and the award for Prepared Dishes for its Vegetarian Louisiana Burrito Filling. Brakes also won six Highly Rated awards.
The ceremony, which took place in the plush location of the Shangri-La bar at The Shard, overlooking the lights of the London skyline, revealed a range of winners.
They included manufacturer and product developer Major International – part of international flavour and fragrance house Givaudin – which nailed the Free-From category with its Major Keralan Pan-Asian Base. It also scooped the Soup and Stock category award.
Love Taste, Whitby Seafood, Delifrance
Love Taste's smoothie cocktail Coco Loco romped home with the award for Beverage Product. Whitby Seafoods' Whole Scampi took the crown in the Fish and Shellfish category and Delifrance came first in the Bread and Morning Goods category with its Mini Indulgent Selection.
Booker and Bidfood were also winners, with Booker taking home trophies in four categories and earning four Highly Rated awards.
This year's awards received a record number of entries, with more than 100 entries across 19 categories.
The full list of winning and Highly Rated products is available here. Category winners, Highly Rated entrants and Finalists gain the ability to use related endorsement logos on all packaging and in all marketing.
Created by William Reed Business Media, the Chefs' Choice Awards are designed to highlight the credentials of mid-market foodservice products. They also unite professionals from the hospitality, wholesale and food manufacturing industries. They were supported by William Reed brands Morning Advertiser, Restaurant, Food Manufacture and Food Spark.
Criteria included aroma, flavour, texture
Products were judged at Food Innovation Solutions' Waterloo development kitchen and were assessed according to criteria such as appearance, aroma, flavour, texture, value for money and innovation.
"Chefs and the pubs, restaurants, hotels and other catering businesses they represent need all the help they can get in these challenging and uncertain times. Competition is as intense as ever, operating costs are high and hiring and retaining skilled staff is a challenge," said event director Sonia Young.
"The right product can help stretched teams meet their customer's expectations - and that's where quality foodservice suppliers come in. Think of these awards as a seal of approval to improve customer trust, engagement and sales, allowing suppliers to independently evaluate the taste and value of their products."
The Chefs' Choice Awards will return in 2021.
