DOUBLE WIN FOR CREATIVE FOODS AT EXCELLENCE IN FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS

December 17th, 2010

A recipe development brand is one of the first foodservice manufacturers to win awards for both the coveted Main Course/Centre of Plate and Dessert/Pudding categories at the same Excellence in Food and Drink Awards.

Creative Foods was awarded best Main Course/Centre of Plate for its Lamb Chettinad Curry and best Dessert/Pudding for its Cherry Bakewell Sponge at the 2010 ceremony.

The company has won best Dessert two years running. Christopher Faulkner, sales director at Creative Foods said: “There is no bigger accolade than winning these two categories in the same year.

“It is a very proud achievement for Creative Foods and it is thanks to our dedicated and focused team of development chefs, as well as our two factories which keep to their specialities – Torquay for puddings and desserts and Flint for main course dishes.

“It allows us to produce foodservice products to a very high standard, and our two wins really highlight this success.”

The Excellence in Food and Drink Awards is one of the only ceremonies dedicated to celebrating the best products in the foodservice industry.

Winning Lamb Chettinad dish

Out of the 18 categories, the Main Course/Centre of Plate and Dessert/Pudding awards are the two where foodservice product manufacturers can show off their innovations from the past year.

Competing with several other curries, as well as a myriad of other main meals in the Main Course/Centre of Plate category, judges stated they were impressed with the authentic taste, texture and spicy aroma of the Lamb Chettinad.
The dish is from the south of India where chunks of lamb are joined with a blend of tomato and spices, then finished with curry leaves and chopped chilli.

The winning dish, which has been developed for The Hilton, is part of a wider Creative Foods curry range that was designed to offer authentic, regional curries similar to those produced in the top curry houses across the UK.

The manufacturers’ team of development chefs scoured many restaurants to see how the curries were presented, described and made.

John Trelfa, Creative Foods new product development manager said:

“A great deal of work went into developing our curries and we are delighted that our hard work has been recognised.

“It means we got it right in terms of quality, flavour and texture. In restaurants, each dish tells a story and we wanted to replicate this with individual, quick to serve portions for wider use in foodservice. It shows that pro-active NPD pays off. ”

Creative Foods Kelantan Chicken Curry was also shortlisted in this category.

Judges said they enjoyed a feast of excellent products in this category, but they felt one had the extra ‘wow’ factor and that was Creative Foods Cherry Bakewell Sponge.

As a hot pudding, the Cherry Bakewell Sponge has taken the traditional British Cherry Bakewell flavour profile and turned it into a suet based sponge.

Last year, Creative Foods won best dessert with its Chocolate Volcano, so the company is delighted to win the same award with a completely different offering. John Trelfa explained:

“It is a real achievement to win the same award two years running and is testament to the expertise our Torquay factory has in producing a variety of desserts and puddings for the foodservice industry.”

Creative Foods is part of the Brake Group and is a specialist manufacturer of ready meals, soups, sauces and desserts.