The Ludlow Food Centre jam kitchen is appealing for more locally grown blackcurrants to keep up production of its award winning blackcurrant jam.

Three handmade products from the Ludlow Food Centre jam kitchen were awarded Gold in the 2008 Great Taste Awards, the annual honours for the fine food sector.

In a competition that received almost 4800 entries from producers all over the UK and Ireland, the high fruit Blackcurrant Jam picked up a two star Gold while the Thai Perry Pear Pickle and Mango Picnic Chutney each collected a one star Gold.

Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, entries are blind tasted by 160 experts, split over five locations over 24 days.

Darren Marsh, head of the Jam Kitchen at Ludlow Food Centre, has been with the company since the store opened 18 months ago. He said: “I’m really proud of everyone in my team as it takes more than one person to produce jams and pickles of this calibre. From our local fruit and vegetable growers through to the bottlers, these are truly local products bursting with flavour.”