We are excited to announce that we have been selected as a Winner at the 2013 Good Food Awards, in the coffee category for our Organic Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Birhanu! Randy and I are heading to San Francisco this weekend for a black-tie Awards Ceremony at the San Francisco Ferry Building on Friday night. Saturday we will be showcasing our coffee alongside the other winners at the Good Food Awards Marketplace. The Fancy Food Show is in town at the same time and 15,000 people are expected on the show floor. The list of Finalists and past Award Winners is a ‘Who’s Who’ in coffee, with highly respected industry professionals making up the judging panel. We have admired many of these roasters for years, so it is very gratifying to be recognized among industry peers such as these.
What are the Good Food Awards? Here are some of the details: 182 Finalists from 31 states were selected from among 1366 entries in nine categories: coffee, beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, confections, pickles, preserves, and spirits. They represent the leaders of a growing movement of conscientious, talented food producers in every part of the country. Finalists are those entrants that rise to the top in the Blind Tasting and are also able to clearly articulate how they fit the Good Food Awards industry-specific criteria of environmental and social responsibility. Finalists attested to responsible production by detailing their efforts to eliminate or reduce pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers, source ingredients locally where possible, implement water and energy conservation, ensure traceability to the farm level, practice good animal husbandry and exercise fair and transparent treatment of workers and suppliers.
In its 3rd year, the Good Food Awards http://www.goodfoodawards.org/ celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic, and responsibly produced. Awards are granted to outstanding American food producers and farmers providing their ingredients. The Awards Ceremony honors those who push their industries towards craftsmanship and sustainability while enhancing our agricultural landscape and building strong communities. The Good Food Awards seal, found on winning products, assures consumers they have found something exceptionally delicious that also supports sustainability and social good.
Good Food Award Recap:
Randy and I had a fun-filled, highly caffeinated, and glutinous weekend at the Good Food Awards in San Francisco. We arrived thursday morning and enjoyed a nice dinner in the Corona Heights district with our friends that live there. Friday morning we toured the following cutting edge roasters: Sightglass, Four Barrel, Ritual, and one of the Blue Bottle outlets. We were particularly impressed with Sightglass. Their facility is amazing- exactly what one would develop for a roaster/retail location if money were no object.
Friday evening was the Good Food Awards Ceremony and Reception. We had the opportunity to meet and listen to keynote speaker Alice Waters, culinary pioneer and founder of one of San Francisco's most famous restaurants, Chez Panisse. <http://www.chezpanisse.com/about/alice-waters/ It was thrilling to be honored on stage alongside some of the most respected artisan coffee roasters in America. Following the formal awards ceremony was a reception which was one of the best meals of our lives. Top San Francisco chefs prepared dishes made with ingredients from all the award winning winners: charcuterie, cheese, preserves, pickles, spirits, craft beer, confections, and my personal favorite, chocolate! The quality of the food was truly amazing. We ate dinner, then gorged on chocolate, then dinner again, followed by more chocolate. Randy enjoyed some amazing beer and spirits as well.
The weekend concluded with a Saturday morning marketplace tradeshow at the beautiful San Francisco Ferry Building, with all the winners sampling and selling product. With the Fancy Food Show in town at the same time, our coffee was introduced to many sophisticated 'foodies' as well as wholesale buyers. Even with the other fantastic coffees available, our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe was very well received. All in all this was great exposure for Evans Brothers Coffee and a good kick start to our year.