Fridrik Thorsteinsson, managing director of Northcoast Seafoods, accepts the British Frozen Food Federation’s Frozen Retail Product of the Year Award. Congratulating him are Jonathan Baker of the Yearsley Group (left) and John Hyman, chief executive of the BFFF.Dishes from Northcoast Seafoods and The Authentic Food Company were crowned Best New Frozen Retail and Foodservice Products of the Year, respectively, at the BFFF Annual Awards 2017 ceremony last Thursday.
Organized by the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), the awards presentation was the highlight of the trade association’s annual gala dinner dance held at the London Hilton on Park Lane hotel. Sponsored by the Yearsley Group, the awards are recognized as the frozen industry’s top accolade in the United Kingdom.
This year’s competition received entries from across the industry with the overall champions being selected from 13 category Gold Award winners announced in both the retail and foodservice categories at the Hilton event.
Tom Holmes (second from left), marketing and insight manager at The Authentic Food Company, is all smiles upon being presented the Foodservice Product of the Year Award. Joining him in the celebration are (left to right) Jonathan Baker of the Yearsley Group, Andrew Green of the Craft Guild of Chefs, and John Hyman of the British Frozen Food Federation.Northcoast Seafoods won the Retail Product of the Year for its Fishmonger’s Favourite Two Salmon and King Prawn Stacks. The Grimsby-based company’s entry also won the Gold Award for Best New Fish-based Retail Product.
The retail awards are unique in that winners are judged by panels of independent consumers from across Britain who mark the products for appearance, taste, innovation, packaging, preparation instructions, likelihood of purchase and value for money.
JD Wetherspoon’s Vegetable Samosa, made by Manchester-based Authentic Food Company, won Best Foodservice Product of the Year as well as Gold for Best New Meat Free/Vegetarian Product.
Distributed in 390-gram packs, the award-winning Fishmonger’s Favourite Salmon & King Prawn Stacks product serves two persons.The foodservice awards are well respected throughout the catering industry as all the entries are judged by representatives of the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs, who as executive chefs, catering managers and recipe developers, are expert in their field and uncompromising in their assessments of the entries.
Commenting on the winners, John Hyman, BFFF chief executive, said: “This year’s awards are a real triumph for all the Gold winners and especially for Northcoast Seafoods and the Authentic Food Company, both of whom can be rightly proud of their achievements.”
JD Wetherspoon’s Vegetable Samosa from The Authentic Food Company took the top prize in the foodservice competition.He added: “The brilliant range and variety of products entered into the awards in 2017 demonstrates that innovation is alive and well in the frozen food category with a wonderful range of inventive, mouth-watering, delicious products being offered to consumers and caterers.
“The UK frozen food market continues to evolve and take advantage of the general consumer trends of premiumization, health, online and minimizing waste. As inflationary pressures build and put pressure on household disposable income, frozen food’s great value for money will become even more important.”
