insideKENT Magazine Issue 22 - January 2014 | Page 58

FOOD+DRINK

An exciting start to 2014
for Produced in Kent

Taste of Kent Awards winners 2013

Kent Young Chef Awards

At last the votes are in. In the 10th year of the Taste of Kent Awards, more
votes than ever were cast for the tastes and flavours of Kent's finest
restaurants, markets, producers and retailers, with more Kent businesses
than ever being nominated. Over the next few months, the top 3 from each
category will be judged, before the winners are announced at the prestigious
Taste of Kent Award ceremony on Thursday 13th March 2014 at the Kent
Event Centre.
Open to anyone across the county, the awards represent all that is best
about the Garden of England, as they demonstrate so many skills and so
much creativity and initiative, which also reflect the quality of the sponsors,
all of whom are so very important in ensuring the success of the Awards.
Vertex Law, now part of Cripps Harries Hall LLP, appreciate the fantastic
quality and service to be had by sourcing locally as well as the associated
significant environmental benefits, and have been main sponsors for the
past three years.

Richard Phillips
and Kent
Young Chef
Junior Winner
Ben Colley

More and more people want to be sure they can trust the food they are
buying, something the supermarkets cannot always guarantee. But it's not
only about trust. Taste and supporting local economies is also just as
important for people.

To celebrate the fantastic food these young chefs produced, a charity dinner
will be held at The Windmill by Richard Phillips, Hollingbourne on January
23rd, where the winners of this year’s awards will be assisting the chefs
to create a stunning menu. All proceeds will go to MIND, the mental health
charity. You can find details on the Produced in Kent website, and book
your table directly with The Windmill on 01622 889 000.

To help push these ideas in Kent, Produced in Kent, one of the largest
county food membership groups in the UK, has upgraded its web site and
launched a county-wide campaign to raise awareness. The '10% Kent'
campaign is to encourage all of the 600,000 households in the county to
spend just 10% of their weekly food shopping on Kent produce and suppliers.
If we all did this, it would add an astonishing £175 million into the Kent
economy. Yes, really that much!
If you would like to know more, go to the Produced in Kent website, where
you can sign up for the newsletter and scroll through their comprehensive
list of local businesses.
November saw the final of the Kent Young Chef Award 2013, when Eden
Allsworth and Ben Colley were yet again named Senior and Junior winners
after an exciting live cook-off at K College in Tonbridge. The judges, led by
celebrity chef Richard Phillips, had the arduous job of selecting the winners.
The competition was streamed live though the college website and IT
lecturers were delighted to report that they had over 10,000 views during
the two hour cook-off.

www.producedinkent.co.uk
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