Vermont Business Magazine Thirteen Vermont specialty food and beverage producers received twenty awards across ten categories in the annual 2022 Good Food Awards. Seven member of the Vermont Specialty Food Association received awards, including: Blake Hill Preserves, Champlain Orchards, Monti Verdi Salumi, Pin Up Pickles, Republic of Vermont, Runamok Maple, and Vermont Creamery, were announced during a virtual award ceremony on Friday, January 14th. Find the full list of 2022 winners here: goodfoodfdn.org/awards/winners/.
The Good Food Awards are presented by the Good Food Foundation as a way of “shining a spotlight on the taste-making crafters at the vanguard of deliciousness and social and environmental excellence. The Awards catalyzes a shift in spending towards truly good food, and the rest of the industry follows.”
Winners will be honored at the Good Food Awards Ceremony on Friday, March 4th in San Francisco. This year’s Good Food Award Winners hail from 39 states and Washington, D.C. Chosen in a blind tasting from thousands of entries before passing a further sustainability and social responsibility vetting process, nearly half of the Winners are first-time awardees. 56% of the Winners are woman-owned businesses and one in six are BIPOC-owned businesses. Across 18 categories, each recognized crafter demonstrated exceptional taste and a deep commitment to building a more sustainable, just food system.
“The list of Vermont specialty food and beverage producers that are recognized among the top-ranking producers in the nation continues to grow and solidify Vermont’s place among America’s best states for a vibrant, sustainable, and impactful food landscape,” says Erin Sigrist, Executive Director of the Vermont Specialty Food Association. “This competition sets exacting environmental and social responsibility standards, and Vermont’s producers continue to meet and exceed those expectations. The contributions that these producers make go far beyond the craft food and beverage landscape; their impact is felt within each of their communities and across the state.”
Multiple winner Blake Hill said in a statement: "We are so JAM Happy to announce that Blake Hill Preserves has just won THREE US Good Food Awards across THREE different Categories - an honor rarely seen in the history of these prestigious national food awards, and setting a new record for us!
"Our 2022 US Good Food Award Winners are Basil Blueberry Botanical Shrub in the Elixir category, Roasted Garlic Savory Jam in the Pantry category, and Raspberry with Wild Bergamot in the Preserves category. With over 2,000 entries from across the country, this year’s winners represent the forefront of American craft food, making products that are delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions. We are excited for Vermont's artisan makers to win so many awards this year.
"This is additionally unique in the artisan food world because we also just became the first US producer to win two Golds, two Silvers and a Bronze at The World Marmalade Awards in England where thousands of marmalades are blind taste-tested to find the world’s very finest.
"As a family owned business deeply rooted in our Vermont community, our "Artisan to Scale" approach where we remain passionately focused on true artisan quality and integrity in everything we do despite making significantly more jars of jam today than we ever dreamt of when we launched our business a few years ago is a key part of Blake Hill's continuing success story." BlakeHillPreserves.com/goodfoodawards.
Find the complete list of all Vermont Winners, their product and category below (* indicates member of VSFA):
- Appalachian Gap Distillery, Drumlin Champlain Valley Straight Rye Whiskey
- Blake Hill Preserves, Basil & Blueberry Shrub*
- Blake Hill Preserves, Roasted Garlic Savory Jam*
- Blake Hill Preserves, Raspberry with Wild Bergamot Flower Jam*
- Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm, Highlander
- Champlain Orchards, Honeycrisp*
- Champlain Orchards, Ettersburg*
- Eden Specialty Ciders, Windfall Orchard Farmhouse Cider
- Eden Specialty Ciders, Northern Spy Barrel-Aged Ice Cider
- Monti Verdi Salumi, Salame Classico*
- Moon and Stars Arepas, Moon and Stars Arepas
- Pin Up Pickles, Bread&Butter*
- Pin Up Pickles, Pickled Strawberries*
- Republic of Vermont, Honeycomb*
- Runamok Maple, Smoked Old Fashioned Cocktail Syrup*
- Runamok Maple, Orange Maple Bitters*
- The Tipsy Pickle, Hart Bread N Butter
- Vermont Creamery, Bijou*
- Vermont Creamery, Cremont*
- von Trapp Farmstead, Mad River Blue
About the Vermont Specialty Food Association:
The Vermont Specialty Food Association is the leading information resource for all specialty food and beverage producers, service providers, and industry professionals. VSFA seeks to grow specialty food and beverage businesses and the Vermont industry through education, promotion, and statewide and national collaboration. It is the nation's oldest and most highly regarded specialty food association, celebrating over 30 years of service to the industry.
To learn more about the work VSFA does, visit their website at www.vtspecialtyfoods.org, follow them on Facebook & Instagram, or call their office at (802) 839-1930.
BERLIN, VT - Vermont Specialty Food Association 1.15.2022