Retailer Iceland and ready meal manufacturer COOK were two of the biggest winners at the 36th annual British Frozen Food Awards.

The awards ceremony, which took place on Thursday 20th June in London, saw COOK, d’Arta, PEPPADEW® and itsu [grocery] take home the programme’s top accolades.

Hosted by sector trade body the British Frozen Food Federation, the awards celebrate quality, innovation and success across the frozen food industry, and this time have been held in the milestone year of the industry’s centenary.

The competition is split into two categories, retail and foodservice. The retail category is judged by 18 consumer panels across the UK and professional chefs, who assess various aspects of the products. A panel of chefs then judge the foodservice entries.

Rupert Ashby, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation, commented: “The quality and standard of the entries was superb across all the categories. Once the scores were cast, COOK bagged the ‘Retail Product of the Year Award’ for its Rhubarb and Custard Pudding and the ‘Foodservice Product of the Year Award’ went to d’Arta for its Cuisin’ Easy Mambonito.

“itsu [grocery] won ‘Retail Innovation Product of the Year’ for its Chocolate Bao Buns and PEPPADEW® took home the ‘Foodservice Innovation Product of the Year’ for its PEPPADEW® Bites. The panels were so impressed by the high quality, taste and presentation of all four products.”

Iceland scoops two Gold Awards

In the retail categories, Iceland scooped two Gold Awards and two Silver Awards. Fullers Food International took home the Gold and Silver Awards for Best Bakery and Morning Goods, Freiberger UK Ltd. won two awards in Best Pizza or savoury bread, and Agristo won the Best Potato Product Award.

For foodservice, Brakes won two Gold awards and four Bronze Awards, while Best New Ingredient went to Gerald McDonald & Co Ltd. for its Yuzu Juice, with Best Ice Cream going to Destiny Foods for its Artisan Ice Cream Mulled Wine Sorbet. Meadowvale Foods Ltd. won the Best Meat Main, and Paramount 21 won Best Fish Main with its Coquille St. Jacques.

Ashby added: “The frozen food industry has come so far in the last hundred years, and the award entries are a testament to that. I’m confident the frozen food industry will continue to thrive, with constant advancements and innovations being brought to the market.”