Success for Lifestyle Catering at the FreeFrom Awards 2013
Hampshire Fare member Lifestyle Catering is delighted to announce that their Catalan Pork dish from their Gourmet Ready Meal brand Lifestyle Cuisine won the Ready Meals Category at the prestigious UK FreeFrom Food Awards 2013 on 16th April. They also won Runner Up to Best Product 2013. Catalan Pork was one of over 340 products that were entered for the FreeFrom Food Awards, a record 37% increase on last year!
Based near Romsey, Sara and Richard Whittall use exceptional ingredients from small family farms including beef from Woodlands Jersey Beef, Meon Valley and lamb and pork from Hydens Originals in Clanfield.
Catalan Pork was one of over 340 products that were entered for the FreeFrom Food Awards, a record 37% increase on last year! A team of 50 expert judges tested freefrom products across 15 categories including Plant 'Milk', Spread, Cheese & Desserts; FreeFrom Breakfast Cereals; Grocery; Ready Meals; and Savoury Biscuits and Snacks. In order to be eligible to enter the awards the products must be free from one or more of the ingredients (including wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, yeast, nuts and soya) that trouble so many people. It is estimated that globally between 220 and 250 million people suffer from food allergies (World Allergy Organisation) and this figure is continuing to rise.
'To win Best Ready Meal and Best Product Runner Up at the UK FreeFrom Food Awards 2013 is an absolute triumph for us and makes the hard work all worthwhile. Thank you for supporting the small producer who sources local ingredients and strives for perfection. Our Gourmet Ready Meals are made for everyone, they just happen to be all gluten-free and some dairy-free too! We can now add this accolade to winning Hampshire Ready Meal Champion 2013 last week!'
Commenting on the results Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, editor of FoodsMatter who chairs the judging sessions said: 'There were many dishes that were free from a number of allergens, yet tasted and looked as good as any conventional product and we recognise that to achieve this takes significant skill and investment from the food industry. Our congratulations to the winners and to those whose products were commended; the standard this year was the highest yet and we look forward to seeing what 2014 will bring!'
The range, quality and innovation of the winning and commended products is further evidence of the growth of the freefrom sector in the UK, which is currently valued at £240 million and expected to grow to £519 million by 2016 - a year on year growth of 15.5 %.(Kantar World Panel).
The FreeFrom Food Awards have been instrumental in driving new product development and improving the quality and choice of freefrom foods that are available. For more information on the awards visit www.freefromfoodawards.co.uk.
For information on freefrom food visit www.freefromfoodsmatter.com and for information on food allergy and intolerance visit: www.foodsmatter.com. You can also follow them on Twitter @FFFoodawards and @FreeFromFood.