West Kent Local News
Image credit: Taste of Kent Awards.
Cheese, Cider and a Perfect Score: West Kent's Winners at the 20th Taste of Kent Awards
The 20th Taste of Kent Awards took place last Thursday, and while most of the headline winners came from the east of the county, West Kent still took home five Gold awards - spanning a cheesemaker, a farm shop, a country market, a juice producer and a home baker, from Maidstone to Tunbridge Wells.
Who won what, and where
| Winner | Borough | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Winterdale Cheesemakers (Winterdale Shaw), Fairseat | Tonbridge & Malling | Kent Cheese of the Year |
| Groombridge Farm Shop | Tunbridge Wells | Kent Independent Retailer of the Year |
| Lenham Country Market | Maidstone | Kent Food & Drink Market of the Year |
| Chegworth Valley (Spiced Apple Juice), Harrietsham | Maidstone | Kent Non-Alcoholic Cold Drink of the Year |
| Liz Reid (Smoked Ham, Leek and Cheddar Quiche), Tunbridge Wells | Tunbridge Wells | Kent Savoury Bakery Product of the Year |
A cheese that's done this before
Winterdale Cheesemakers, based at Fairseat near Wrotham, held on to Kent Cheese of the Year with Winterdale Shaw - the same cheese that also took Gold back in 2024. It's a rare repeat win in a category that's judged by blind tasting, which says something about the consistency of a cheese made on a working farm rather than in a factory.
A perfect score, twice over
Two of West Kent's wins came with full marks attached. Groombridge Farm Shop scored 100% across every section of its mystery shop to take Kent Independent Retailer of the Year, and Lenham Country Market scored full marks for what was inside the market itself on its way to Kent Food & Drink Market of the Year. Both categories are judged partly by a public vote before the mystery visits take place, so the wins reflect existing local loyalty as much as anything the judges found on the day.
From an orchard, and from a home kitchen
Chegworth Valley, the long-running juice and cider producer based at Harrietsham, won Kent Non-Alcoholic Cold Drink of the Year for its Spiced Apple Juice - made, like all its drinks, from fruit grown in its own Kent orchards. And in a sign that the awards aren't just for established businesses, Tunbridge Wells home baker Liz Reid won Kent Savoury Bakery Product of the Year for a Smoked Ham, Leek and Cheddar Quiche, up against entries from commercial bakeries across the county.
20 years of Taste of Kent
Now in its 20th year, the awards moved to Medway for the first time, held at MidKent College's Medway Campus in Gillingham and hosted by broadcasters Julie Maddocks and Nigel Barden. Products were blind tasted in July by a panel of chefs, buyers and food writers, with retail and hospitality categories starting with a public vote before judges made mystery visits to the top three. Carol Ford, Executive Chair of organiser Produced in Kent, said: "Twenty years on, the Taste of Kent Awards are still showing just how much talent we have in this county... Congratulations to every winner and finalist." Source: Taste of Kent Awards
