Tasmania’s champion produce recognised at Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards

TASMANIAN garlic, honey, cheese and bread have won prizes at the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards.

Letetia Ware from Middleton , Tasmanian Gourmet Garlic, grower , picture ,Kim Eiszele

WINNING the top honey award at the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards was an unexpected bolt out of the blue for Launceston’s Lindsay Bourke.

Mr Bourke was in a field working with bees and unaware that his Taverner’s Organic Leatherwood had won the Champion Honey trophy at one of Australia’s premier shows.

He said winning interstate awards with leatherwood honey was often an uphill battle, because judges were not accustomed to the honey’s distinctive flavour.

Lindsay Bourke inspecting his hives at a property near Perth.

“But when the judges are good, it doesn’t matter where the honey comes from,” he said.

“I am just so pleased.”

Tasmanians won four of the 49 champions trophies across 16 categories.

The other winners were:

A lemon tart by Manubread Tasmania was Champion Pastry.

Tasmanian Gourmet Garlic won Champion Garlic.

Heidi Tilsit cheese was the Champion Semi Hard and Eye Cheese champion.

Mr Bourke said he was preparing entries for this month’s world championships in South Korea.

Taverners also won the Best Honey Product trophy at last month’s Royal Hobart Fine Food Awards.