This year Jonathan Miller, Sweet Grocery Buyer at Fortnum's, is on the panel of esteemed judges. He will be helping judge the artisan marmalades on appearance, presentation, set, aroma and flavour in several categories (detailed below). The winning entries in the Artisan categories may be stocked at Fortnum's, so that could means this festival and competition becomes fantastic opportunity for the Artisan producer entrants and will be a tremendous chance to really launch their production further.
At Fortnum’s, marmalade is a passion of ours and we’ve worked hard to make our own selection both excellent and extraordinary. Take our Nonpareil Orange Marmalade, for example. It might sound a touch boastful to describe this marmalade as nonpareil (“without equal” in french) but we truly believe it is, and I’m confident you will become entranced by it too. It’s made with not just the flesh of the sweet Valencian orange but the juice too. We use light sugar to reveal the full flavour, and make sure the texture of the set is delicate and soft so that it spreads easily. It’s almost like eating a Valencia orange in the morning. Ideal on croissants as well as hot buttered toast.
We’re proud of our more curious marmalades, and our Blood Orange Marmalade is really something special. Italian blood oranges are perfectly ripe for one week each February, during which they are turned into the entire year’s production. The slightly sweet note and incredible colour leave one in no doubt that this is a marmalade apart - which makes it all the more tragic that when it’s gone, it’s really gone.
We’re hoping that the competition at this year’s marmalade festival uncovers some fine producers, and looking at the number of entries we've had, we're hoping for a good number of potential new producers to join our range at Fortnum’s. But if your entry doesn't get chosen, do try again in 2011. We want to build, along with the fine producers that we uncover this year, one of the best selections of artisan marmalades in the world. So if you think your company makes something extraordinary then enter a jar next year. You never know, the judges might love it as much as you do.
Visit www.fortnumandmason.com to find out more about our range.
