Food winners announced


Ever wondered which cheese to pick, which are the best chocolates, where's the best ice cream or yoghurt, or who has the best milk?

The answers are waiting for you in the list of winners of the RNA's Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show awards.

Here's your new shopping list!

A stewed plum sorbet with cinnamon and cloves from The Bellingen Gelato Bar in NSW was crowned Grand Champion ahead of 131 ice-creams and sorbet entries from across Australia.

Bracegirdles Equador Chilli and Orange Chocolate was crowned the nation's best in Queensland's first chocolate competition of its kind which attracted almost 100 entries.

For the second year in a row, master cheese maker Franck Beaurain from Jindi Cheese in Jindivick, Victoria, took out the title of Australia's best cheese for his Grand Champion award winning Old Telegraph Road Heritage Blue.

It's a hard job but someone has to do it. Since Monday some of the country's leading judges have made their way through 640 chocolates, ice-creams and dairy products as part of the first three RQFWS competitions which are designed to unearth the nation's top food and wine products. You may think stop moaning, but having spent a whole morning eating cheese starting with the mouldy blues (and that's not a reference to my attitude), these judges have my full sympathy!

This year the chocolate competition was the big surprise Chief Judge Russell Smith says .

"The chocolate competition attracted a fine array of products and with such a tough judging panel only the most outstanding won gold medals," he says.

"The winning chocolate was an outstanding example of artisan craftsmanship and technically it rated perfectly.  Combined with an innovative use of flavour, marrying orange with chilli, the harmony of the chocolate used in the shell and ganache filling was exceptional."


I chatted to judge Steve Sheldon from Monty's Chocolates at Paddington who said the winning chocolates were a knock out.


Mr Smith says the entire judging panel was blown away by the winning sorbet from NSW.

"The texture for this sorbet was smooth and luscious and combined with innovative flavours, it delivered heaps of wow factor," he says.

"That's why the sorbet came out on top of the ice-cream this year because the texture is so rare."


Other major competition winners include:


Champion Ice-Cream or Gelato of Show and Champion Queensland Ice Cream or Sorbet of Show - Strawberry Lane Ice-Creamery, Bli Bli, for its Raspberry Ice Cream.

Bracegirdles Native Finger Lime Chocolate - it was truly delicious

Champion Individual Chocolate or Truffle of Show - Bracegirdles, Adelaide for its Native Finger Lime Chocolate.

Most successful Chocolate Exhibitor - Bracegirdles, Adelaide.

Champion Cheese of Show - Jindi Cheese, Jindivick Victoria, for its Old Telegraph Road Heritage Blue.


Champion Dairy Dessert of Yoghurt of Show - Queensland Yoghurt Company, Maroochydore for its Apple Cinnamon Yoghurt

Champion Milk or Cream of Show- Mungali Creek Dairy, Millaa Millaa, for its Misty Mountain Farms Full Cream Jersey Milk

Champion Buffalo, Goat or Sheep Milk Product of Show - Meredith Dairy, Meredith Victoria for its Ash Cherve.

Champion Queensland Cheese or Dairy Product of Show - Queensland Yoghurt Company, Maroochydore for its Apple Cinnamon Yoghurt.

Competition winners earn the right to display their gold, silver bronze or trophy show medal on the product packaging.

The hunt for the next two of the best continues with the RQFWS branded beef and lamb competitions in July.

Royal Queensland Show