Pink champagne-sipping free-from food manufacturers packed into the Music Room at Burgh House in Hampstead on Tuesday evening to watch Antony Worrall Thompson presenting the FAIR trophy for the Best FreeFrom Product 2009 to the Healthy Cake Company for their organic, gluten and dairy-free Carrot and Raisin Cake - winning out over another succulent carrot cake (from the Gluten Free Kitchen), a new organic, dairy-free cranberry chocolate bar (Plamil Foods), crunchy gluten-free cheese bites (Mrs Crimbles) and nine other excellent category-winning free-from foods.

(The FAIR trophy is a fine, healthy marble bust by sculptor Tom Allan donated by the Foundation for Allergy Information and Research. http://www.allergyresearch.info/)

Gluten-eating carrot-cake lovers among the judges agreed that you would never have known that the Healthy Cake Companys carrot cake was 'free-of' anything at all and they would have been very happy to be offered it on any occasion. 'We were delighted that the Healthy Cake Company had gone the extra mile 'to make the cake dairy free as well as gluten free ' said Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, Foods Matter editor and chair of the judges. There is currently a trend amongst manufacturers of gluten-free products to add small amounts of dairy to previously gluten and dairy-free products, which is enormously frustrating for the many people who are intolerant of both. That the cake was also organic was just an extra bonus.'

The recently launched Genius gluten-free bread won the Innovation Award for the best new freefrom product 2009.

'At last - a gluten-free bread that really could be mistaken for a normal bread' was the comment of not just one, but several of the judges of the Innovation Award. It looks like a normal loaf, cuts like a normal loaf, has good both crumb and crust and a pleasant 'real bread' flavour. 'Excellent though many of the other innovative products were in this category,' said Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, 'the Genius loaf stood out as a skilful and imaginative solution to a hitherto intractable manufacturing problem.'

Winner, Highly Commended and Commended certificates were awarded to products in 12 categories to celebrate the growth in the free-from food market from a mere £90 million per annum in 2006 to a projected £350 million by 2012. Certificate winners and contact details are listed below.

Giving the presentation speech, Michelle also outlined plans for ever bigger and better awards next year. Already in the frame are two new categories one for free-from alcoholic drinks and a readers choice category to be drawn from submissions made by Foods Matter readers.

This years Foods Matter FreeFrom Food Awards were sponsored by 
Livwell

 http://www.livwell.eu Livwell are part of the Finsbury Food Group and are the largest supplier to the UK free-from retail market.

Pink champagne for the awards party was supplied by Sainsburys.

The awards were presented by Antony Worral Thompson http://www.awtonline.co.uk/ At the eighteenth century Burgh House in Hampstead http://www.burghhouse.org.uk/

Foods Matter is the UKsonly magazine for those with food allergies or intolerances more at http://www.foodsmatter.com

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More information on the awards and images of the winners from Laura on 020 7722 2866 laura@foodsmatter.com or on the awards site at www.freefromfoodawards.co.uk

WINNER OF THE FAIR TROPHY FOR BEST FREEFROM FOOD 2009

Healthy Cake Company organic carrot and raisin cake

The Healthy Cake Company www.healthycakecompany.co.uk

INNOVATION AWARD

Winner Genius gluten-free white bread

Genius www.geniusglutenfree.com

Highly Commended Bob the Builder organic corn and rice pasta shapes

Commended Lactofree soft white cheese

CATEGORY WINNERS

1. Breakfast cereals

Winner Barkat organic rice crunchies

Highly Commended Bakery on Main nutty cranberry granola Whole Earth organic cornflakes

Commended Eat Natural toasted buckwheat pumpkin seeds, raisins and mango

2. Bread and bread mixes

Winner Proceli Complet brown rice bread

Highly Commended Droppa & Droppa mixed seed loaf Juvela all-purpose mix Sainsburys free-from ciabatta

Commended Glutafin multi-purpose white mix Juvela sliced white bread Mrs Crimbles bread mix Roleys teff flour bread-mix

3. Pasta, pizza and pizza bases

Winner Dietary Specials pasta mais and riso

Highly Commended Antoinette Savill pizza bases Barkat white rice pizza crust

Commended Dietary Specials rigatoni with Mediterranean vegetables Glutafin penne Orgran rice and millet pasta Rizopia organic brown rice penne Sainsburys free-from beef lasagne

4. Pies, flans, sausages and sauces

Winner Anilas spicy korma curry sauce

Highly Commended Droppa & Droppa Spanish tart Richard Woodall Cumberland unsmoked pork sausages Waitrose pork sausages

Commended Clives organic vegetable chilli pie Dietary Specials steak pie Sauces of Choice Black cherry sauce

5. Savoury snacks and biscuits

Winner Mrs Crimbles original cheese bites

Highly Commended Barkat plain pretzels Clearspring organic multigrain rice cakes

Commended Nairns cheese oatbakes Tesco free-from cheese crackers Village Bakery organic oatcakes

6. Cakes, muffins, sweet biscuits

Winner Gluten Free Kitchen carrot cake Healthy Cake Company organic carrot and raisin cake

Highly Commended Glutafin digestive biscuits Kallo Free to Enjoy Indulgent Biscuit Deeelights Lazy Day Foods chocolate gingers Lovemore Freefrom Foods chocolate chip cookies Waitrose double choc muffins

Commended Crayves apple muffin mix Pure Flavour lemon drizzle mini cakes Tesco free-from chocolate muffins

7. Chocolate and cereal bars

Winner Plamil orange chocolate with cranberries

Highly Commended Eat Natural brazils, sultana, almond and hazelnut bars Kinnerton luxury dark chocolate egg Village Bakery pumpkin seed and cranberry bar

Commended BoojaBooja organic ginger truffles D & D dark couverture chocolate egg Its Nut Free fudge flapjack Sainsburys free-from mint crisps

8. Christmas goodies

Winner Especially Delicious Christmas cake

Highly Commended Gluten Free Kitchen Christmas cake Tesco Christmas pudding Tesco mince pies Village Bakery organic Christmas cake

Commended Barkat Christmas pudding Livwell iced Christmas cake Lovemore free-from mince pies Pure Flavour mince pies

9. Milk and yoghurt

Winner Tesco semi-skimmed goats milk

Highly Commended Lactofree strawberry yoghurt Sainsbury sweetened fresh soya drink

Commended Provamel fruits of the forest yoghurt

10. Butter, cheese and spread

Winner Tofutti Creamy smooth original

Highly Commended Delamere Dairy hard goats cheese Pure dairy-free soya spread

Commended Redwoods Cheezly mozzarella style Woodlands Park goats butter

11. Ice creams, puddings, desserts

Winner Swedish Glacé Creamy Smooth Original

Highly Commended BNice strawberry ice cream BoojaBooja Stuff in a Tub maple and pecan Gluten Free Kitchen bread and butter pudding

Commended Almondy almond tart Alpro long-life vanilla custard BoojaBooja Stuff in a Tub chocolate Christines sticky toffee pudding GFree apple and mincemeat tray OK chocolate sponge Sainsburys free-from syrup pudding Tofutti Cuties chocolate

12. Products made in a nut-free environment

Winner Plamil orange chocolate with cranberries

Highly Commended Its Nut Free chewy oat and raisin cereal Kinnerton luxury dark chocolate egg Orgran vanilla cake mix

Commended Barkat Matzo crackers Chilly Billy apple & raspberry ice lolly

Contact details: Almondy www.almondy.co.uk

Alpro www.alprosoya.co.uk

Anila's www.anilassauces.com

Antoinette Savill www.wellfoods.co.uk

Bakery on Main www.bakeryonmain.com

Barkat www.glutenfree-foods.co.uk

BNice www.beanieshealthfoods.co.uk

Bob the Builder www.funfoods4all.co.uk

Booja-Booja www.boojabooja.com

Chilly Billy www.bensonsapplejuice.co.uk

Christine's www.christinespuddings.co.uk

Clearspring www.clearspring.co.uk

Clive's www.clivespies.co.uk

CraYve's www.crayves.co.uk

D&D www.d-dchocolates.com

Delamere Dairy www.delameredairy.co.uk

Dietary Specials www.dietaryspecials.co.uk

Droppa and Droppa www.droppaanddroppa.com

Eat Natural www.eatnatural.co.uk

Especially Delicious www.especiallydelicious.co.uk

Genius www.geniusglutenfree.com

GFree www.gfree.co.uk

Glutafin www.glutafin.co.uk

The Gluten Free Kitchen www.glutenfreefood.info

The Healthy Cake Company www.healthycakecompany.co.uk

Its Nut Free www.itsnutfree.com

Juvela www.juvela.co.uk

Kallo www.freetoenjoy.co.uk

Kinnerton www.kinnerton.com

Lactofree www.lactofree.co.uk

Lazy Day Foods www.lazydayfoods.com

Livwell www.livwell.eu

Lovemore http://lovemore-freefromfoods.com

Mrs Crimbles www.mrscrimbles.com

Nairns www.nairns-oatcakes.com

OK Foods www.ok-foods.co.uk

Orgran www.orgran.co.uk

Plamil www.plamilfoods.co.uk

Proceli www.proceli.co.uk

Provamel www.provamel.co.uk

Pure www.puredairyfree.co.uk

Pure Flavour www.pureflavour.co.uk Redwood Wholefoods www.redwoodfoods.co.uk

Richard Woodall www.richardwoodall.co.uk

Rizopia www.pgrhealthfoods.co.uk

Roleys www.roleys.com

Sainsburys www.sainsburys.co.uk

Sauces of Choice www.saucesofchoice.co.uk

Swedish Glacé www.swedishglace.com

Tesco www.tesco.com

Tofutti www.trianobrands.co.uk

Village Bakery www.village-bakery.com

Waitrose www.waitrose.com

Whole Earth www.wholeearthfoods.com

Woodlands Park www.woodlands-park.co.uk