Heat and eat meals are strong contenders in the Product of the Year awards

Our love of making meals with little preparation is evident in the growing number of heat and eat meals in the running to be Product of the Year.

Products of the year Awards 2015. Embargoed: Until Thursday February 12, 10pm.

CHEFS’ shortcuts are leading the charge in the supermarket ready to heat and eat war.

This year’s Product of the Year awards revealed the major chains are ramping up the category as it grows year on year.

A heat and eat Bombay chicken by Jamie Oliver was just one of the novel products to tempt judges’ tastebuds among the 100 or so grocery items up for Product of the Year for 2016.

This year there were a total of eight “ready to prepare” meal entries, compared with one last year.

“Despite our love affair with cooking shows like The Hotplate, MasterChef and My Kitchen Rules, we still want some of the prep work done for us,” Product of the Year Australia director Sarah Connelly said.

Fairfield Advance - Pictured: Jamie Oliver - World famous chef Jamie Oliver appeared at the new Ministry of Food Kitchen in Wetherill Park Stocklands today. All photographs taken at MOF, Kinchin Lane, 561-583 Polding Street, Wetherill Park NSW Australia CONTACT PHOTOGRAPHER FOR PHONE NUMBERS OF ALL PEOPLE COOKING

“Consumers want top quality, super fresh ingredients, so we still feel like we get to cook with these ready to eat meals, while cutting down on the preparation time.

“Frozen microwave meals, although still relevant, are perhaps becoming less popular.”

There are about 100 entries in this year’s awards, with about two-thirds food and wine and the remainder beauty, household cleaning, appliances and healthcare.

On average, a category win can mean an increase of 10 to 15 per cent in sales, but increases of up to 50 per cent have been recorded in past years.

This year the entries were put before a panel of experts, led by Channel 9 personality Lisa Wilkinson, and thousands of Australian shoppers will be surveyed to determine the winners.

The panel of Product of the Year judges at this year's tasting in Cockle Bay. The tested some 100 products. Supplied.

The remainder of the judging panel included NewsLocal editor in chief Kathy Lipari, Shop Smart editor Mercedes Maguire, Daily Telegraph food editor Grant Jones and Woman’s Day editor in chief Fiona Connolly, alongside industry figures James Mathews from The Australian Food and Grocery Council and Peter Love from Metcash, owner of Woolworths.

In the first step in the annual Product of the Year Award process, the jury panel, headed by Wilkinson, short-listed the entrants vying for the title before Nielsen surveys more than 15,000 Australian shoppers to find the individual category winners.

The Product of the Year 2016 Awards will be announced in Sydney in February next year.

Details: productoftheyear.com.au