Good Food Awards Open Call for Entries

The Good Food Awards has announced a call for entries July 7-Aug. 1. Food and drink producers from across the country are invited to submit their beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, confections, pickles, preserves, oils, spirits and – new this year – honey. In celebration of its fifth anniversary and to recognize even more exceptional food crafters, the Good Food Awards is also expanding existing categories to include cider (Beer), kombucha (Pickles), yogurt and kefir (Cheese), preserved fish (Charcuterie) and cocktail modifiers (Spirits).

Winners from each region of the United States are chosen based on meeting the sustainable production criteria for each category and rising to the top in a Blind Tasting. Held in September, the Blind Tasting brings together 200 food movement leaders, industry experts and journalists (past judges have included Alice Waters, Ruth Reichl, Nell Newman and Michael Pollan) to taste entries from all 50 states. Finalists will be announced in November 2014 and the winners will be announced at a gala Awards Ceremony on Jan. 8, 2015, in San Francisco.

The entry period for the Good Food Awards is open July 7 through Aug. 1. To enter, fill out a simple online form at www.goodfoodawards.org and pay the $65 entry fee. Entries are accepted in 11 categories: beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, confections, honey, oils, pickles, preserves and spirits. Additional information and criteria for eligibility are available at www.goodfoodawards.org.    

The Good Food Awards are the first and only national initiative honoring producers across the country for taste, sustainability and social responsibility. They are organized by Seedling Projects, a ‘do tank’ for the food movement, whose charitable mission is to transform ideas into action to build a better food system.

Sponsors include Williams-Sonoma and founding partner Whole Foods Market, together with lead sponsors Bi-Rite Market and Dominic Philips Event Marketing. Also supporting the Awards are Market Hall Foods, Healdsburg SHED, Veritable Vegetable, GreenLeaf, Tomales Bay Foods, CUESA and The Impact Hub Bay Area.