The shortlist for the prestigious Heart of England fine foods (HEFF) Diamond Awards 2009 has been revealed and with tough competition across the Fresh Produce category.

The judging for the HEFF Diamond Awards was held at the Ricoh Area, Coventry on February 24-26 and the shortlist was announced at IFE, the International Food and Drink Event in London on Sunday March 15.

The Diamond Awards were launched last year to mark HEFF’s tenth anniversary as the Regional Food Group for the West Midlands and celebrate the fantastic food and drink available in the Heart of England region which includes Shropshire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Birmingham and The Black Country.

There are nine product categories up for grabs; Drinks, Meat, Poultry and Game, Prepared Foods, Bakery, Confectionary, Dairy, Condiments and Preserves, Desserts, and new for this year, Fresh Produce.

The winners of each product category will then go head to head to win the highly coveted Special Diamond Award for Taste. There are also three other Special Diamond Awards to recognise business achievements; Grow, Innovate and Excel.

The Fresh Produce category had judging sessions throughout the year to accommodate for seasonality and four finalists have been announced. Manor Farm Fruits, Tamworth, Staffordshire, for its jubilee strawberries, Drews of Worcester, Little Witley, Worcestershire, with its midi plum tomatoes on the vine, Skylark Organics, Malvern, Worcestershire, for its carrots, and Aconbury Sprouts, Hereford, for its snow pea shoots.

The winners of the HEFF Diamond Awards will be announced at the awards dinner and presentation on Saturday May 16.

Heart of England fine foods was formed in 1998 to promote and raise awareness of food and drink within the West Midlands.

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