insideKENT Magazine Issue 42 - September 2015 | Page 36

FOOD+DRINK

BBC COUNTRYFILE’S MATT BAKER SELECTS TASTE OF
KENT AWARDS 2016 TASTIEST CHERRY WINNER

Countryfile's Matt Baker

BBC Countryfile presenter, Matt Baker, kicked
off the start of the Taste of Kent Awards 2016
by judging the Garden of England Champion
Tastiest Cherry grown by a Kent grower at the
Kent County Show on Friday 10th July 2015.
There were over 40 entries for the Taste of Kent
Awards soft fruit and cherry classes this year;
the largest number of entries since the award,
sponsored by East Malling Research,
commenced three years ago.
Kent’s tastiest cherry, tastiest strawberry and
tastiest raspberry were chosen at the National
Cherry and Soft Fruit Show, and this year, one
farmer hit the jackpot winning all three awards.
Farming at Cliffe Woods, near Rochester, John
Myatt & Co was announced the winner for its
strawberry variety, Magnum; their raspberry
variety, Tulamen; and their cherry variety, Vanda.
John Myatt of J. Myatt & Co said: “We are
absolutely delighted to have our fruit selected to
win all three classes for the Taste of Kent Awards'
Garden of England Champion category this year.
These classes are particularly important to our
farm as we always select particular varieties and
pick at the optimum time to ensure the flavour
is always at its best. We are a supplier to Marks
& Spencer particularly because of the flavour of
our fruit. The work that Produced in Kent is doing
through these awards is to be commended and
is very valuable to the industry.”

Dan Kennedy of Kent Cookery School and Matt Baker

Dr Mark Else, science programme leader at East
Malling Research (EMR), comments:
“Congratulations to the winner. Winning all three
fruit categories takes a huge amount of dedication
and an extremely high level of attention to detail.
We are delighted with this clear winner – clearly
a business at the top of its game!”
Paul Kelsey, chairman of the National Cherry and
Soft Fruit Show, said: “We are delighted to see
the growth in the number of entries in the Taste
of Kent Awards' classes this year. This clearly
justifies the collaboration between the National
Cherry and Soft Fruit Show and Produced in
Kent, the organisers of the Taste of Kent Awards,
to raise awareness of Kentish fruit."
BBC’s Countryfile programme was filming at the
Kent Show for its summer special episode, shown
on Sunday 26th July, and included filming the
live preparation of a cherry salsa recipe with Dan
Kennedy of the Kent Cookery School in the
Produced in Kent area.
Matt Baker, when interviewed by Adam Dowling
on BBC Radio Kent’s Drive Time programme
that evening, said: “I had the honour of judging
the tastiest cherry; oh the secrecy of cherry
judging! I had three punnets in front of me and
I was there for about half an hour, but I had to
make a decision. There were fireworks going off
in my mouth,” (5.30pm, Friday 10th July,
Radio Kent).

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Stephanie Durling from Produced in Kent said:
“We are absolutely thrilled that for the first time
we have one soft fruit grower scooping all three
awards. These awards are always such a ringing
endorsement for soft fruit and cherry farmers
across Kent. The involvement of Countryfile has
been an added bonus for us and we are delighted
that Matt Baker was able to be a part of the
award this year.”
The Taste of Kent Awards has been running
since 2004 and is recognised as the outstanding
annual showcase for Kent food and drink. The
awards promote a wide range of categories and
are open to all food and drink businesses across
Kent. The campaign begins each year with the
commencement of public voting between
September and early January. This year it is
expected in excess of 16,000 votes will be cast,
which has been increasing year on year, clearly
demonstrating that more and more consumers
are buying Kent products and are interested in
supporting local businesses.
The winning growers will formally receive their
award at the Taste of Kent Awards gala dinner,
which takes place in March 2016.
Check out Dan Kennedy's Kent Cherry Salsa
recipe (as featured on Countryfile) over on
page 45.