Product Excellence Awards 2019 shortlist revealed

The shortlist for the Product Excellence Awards (PEAs), organised in association with global foodservice provider and headline sponsor Delaware North, has been revealed.

The awards recognise excellence and innovation in food, drink and equipment products within the hospitality sector.

Lisa Jenkins, products and suppliers editor for The Caterer, said: "We had hundreds of fantastic entries this year and tons of innovation, especially in the food and drink categories. It gives us great pleasure to share these results and to recognise the creativity and technological advances, particularly in the equipment sector, which has seen slower, more cautious development in 2019.

"Whatever type of business you operate in, you rely on your suppliers to excite and engage your customers. Consumers of food and drink continually expect new entertainment, quick service and on-trend flavour sensations."

The judging, which took place at Westminster Kingsway College, and at The Caterer's offices in London, saw hundreds of food and drink products tested by respected chefs, and equipment debated and discussed at length by industry specialists and consultants from across all sectors of hospitality.

The results of the PEAs will be announced at a lunchtime awards presentation at Delaware North’s London Stadium on 6 December. Guests will be served a delicious three-course lunch and drinks, from a menu developed by Gary Foakes, executive head chef at the London Stadium.

Two 'winners of winners' awards for the highest-scoring food or drink product, and the highest-scoring equipment product will also be presented at the awards lunch.

The PEAs awards event provides an excellent opportunity for suppliers and manufacturers of all the shortlisted products to network with the judges, operators and purchasers and for winners to celebrate their success.

The overall winners and coverage from the awards ceremony will appear in a PEAs supplement in the 20 December issue of The Caterer.

The 2019 PEAs shortlisted finalists:

Ancillary cooking equipment

• Jestic, Winston, CVap 7-series Cook and Hold Cabinets
• Lincat, Cibo/B
• Merrychef, Merrychef e1s

Bakery

• Café de Nata, Raspberry Pastel de Nata
• Creative Foods, Steak & Merlot Pie with Beef Dripping
• Delifrance UK, Hand-crafted Micro Roll assortment

Beverage making and dispense equipment

• Franke Coffee Systems, Franke S700 Semi-Automatic
• JDE, Douwe Egberts, Cafitesse Excellence Touch
• The Brew It Group, Milkit, Milk Tap System
• UCC Coffee, Thermoplan, Black&White4-

Coffee

• Change Please, Adventurous Blend
• Tiki Tonga, No. 8-10 Coffee Capsule
• UCC, Orang Utan Coffee

Condiments

• Avlaki, Avlaki Lesvos Groves Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Belazu Ingredient Company, Aged Malt Vinegar
• Belazu Ingredient Company, Red Pepper Tapenade
• Farrington’s, Mellow Yellow Cold-Pressed Rapeseed Oil
• Rubies in the Rubble, Tomato Ketchup

Dairy

• Booker, Crunch Extra Mature Cheddar
• Eurilait, Alfresco Barbecue Cheese Steaks – plain
• Eurilait, Paysan Breton creamy cheese – garlic and herb
• Long Clawson Dairy, Long Clawson Blue Stilton slices

Desserts

• Brioche Pasquier, Macarons Classique
• Traiteur de Paris, Cappuccino individual desserts
• Unilever, Carte D’Or Professional Crème Brûlée/Crème Caramel

Food preparation equipment

• EcoBurner, Refillable EcoBurner
• Mitchell & Cooper, Crustastun
• Robot Coupe, Robot Cook Cooking, Cutter, Blender

Fish and seafood

• Clearwater Fine Foods Europe, Wild-caught Frozen-at-sea Canadian Scallops
• Direct Seafoods, Glitne Halibut
• Paramount 21, Florentine Fishcakes
• Young’s Seafood, Quarter Pounder Fillet of Fish

Frozen

• Booker, Chef’s Larder Hot ‘n’ Kickin’ Chicken Wings
• Itsu Grocery, Itsu’s Vegetable Fusion Gyoza
• JJ Foodservice, Double Crunch Super Crisp Chip
• Traiteur de Paris, Potato Gratin with White Truffle

Hygiene

• Booker, Clean Pro+ Fast Acting Antibacterial Cleaner and Disinfectant H2FA
• Winterhalter Chemicals, Winterhalter Blue Super Concentrated Surface Cleaner Sanitizer 2L C170

Meat and poultry

• Booker, Blackgate Signature, 6 Ultimate Wagyu Burgers
• Danish Crown, Cumberland Breakfast Burger
• Henson Meats, Henson Salt Beef

Prime cooking

• Convotherm, Convotherm Mini Black
• Frymaster, FilterQuick easyTouch
• Rieber, Catering Circle
• Synergy Grill Technology, Trilogy Grill

Refrigeration

• Electrolux Professional Skyline Chills
• Hoshizaki, Gram Baker Pro GA 950
• Williams, Meat Ageing Refrigerator MAR1

Soft drinks

• Coca-Cola European Partners, Coca-Cola Signature Mixers, Herbal Notes
• Coca-Cola European Partners, Coca-Cola Signature Mixers, Smoky Notes
• Fentimans, Oriental Yuzu Tonic
• Martin Frobisher’s, Ginger & Juniper – Spectacular Sparkler

Snacking

• Belazu Ingredient Company, Tomato & Smoked Paprika Picos
• JEKL, Steak on the Go! – Honeyed Jalapeno
• Supernatural Food, Boundless Activated Nuts & Seeds – Rosemary & Cayenne
• We Love Purely, Nice & Spicy Plantain Chips

Special diet

• Bidfood, Simply Puree Level 4 Cottage Pie
• Bidfood, Simply Puree Allergen Aware Level 4 Pureed Chickpea Stew
• Miami Burger, Classic Miami Plant-Based Burger

Tea and hot chocolate

• Shibui Tea, Earl Grey Teabags
• Thorntons, Luxury Hot Chocolate Powder
• Twinings, All Day Decaf Teabags

Technology

• Aptus Systems, Spoonfed Software
• Food Alert, FACT Safety Management Browser and App
• Syft, SyftForce Rota and Team Management App

Warewashing

• Hobart Equipment, Two-Level Washer
• Meiko, M-iClean HXL
• Meiko, M-iClean US Glasswasher with Integral GiO Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment
• Winterhalter Under-counter Masterpiece Glasswasher

Wine and spirits

• Booker, Alfred Button & Sons, Lovely Lemon Sherbet Shimmer Gin
• Booker, Don Pavral Rioja Crianza
• Matthew Clark, Bottega Gold Prosecco Doc Brut