The judging for the CCM Chefs’ Own-Brand Awards 2024 has now been completed!
Run in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs – the leading chefs’ association in the UK – this year’s awards attracted a record number of entries. In fact, entries were up by 43% on last year, illustrating the importance attached to foodservice own-brands by wholesalers and buying groups.
Heading up the judging panel was Andrew Green, chief executive of the Craft Guild of Chefs – the leading chefs’ association in the UK. He has been involved with the CCM awards since they were launched in 2018.
Green was joined on the panel by Jason Gordon, catering manager for the General Medical Council, who has also been a judge for the awards since the start.
The third judge, Mark Reynolds, was new to the CCM awards this year. He is national chairman of the Craft Guild of Chefs and regional executive head chef of sports and entertainment catering business Levy UK.
The judging was conducted in blind tastings. Feedback will be given on each product tested with the aim of raising the bar even further in own-brand development for the benefit of wholesalers, their customers and consumers alike.
Green commented: “I think that the quality of the own-brands products has stepped up again. Each year it tends to move forward a small amount and hopefully that’s due to some of the critiquing and information fed back to the entrants from the judging.”
Cash & Carry Management’s managing director Martin Lovell added: “This is the seventh year of our CCM Chefs’ Own-Brand Awards, and we are thrilled with the response of wholesalers to our initiative.
“It is clear from the breadth and depth of entries that wholesalers and their buying groups continue to invest in their own-brand ranges, and it is encouraging to see that feedback given by our judging panel in previous years is being acted upon to enhance the quality of own-brand lines.
“We look forward to announcing all the winners at our prestigious awards lunch in January. It is going to be another great event.”
