Strictly Come Ploughman’s winner has authentic Cheddar at its core
Throughout the summer, the British public has been taking part in a crucial vote – not to find the next Tom Chambers or Alesha Dixon…but the nation’s best ploughman’s lunch.
The official ‘Strictly Come Ploughman’s’ poll, run by handmade Cheddar producers West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers, invited nominations for the eatery serving up the perfect ploughman’s taste combination. Nine regional finalists were judged by a panel of ploughman’s lunch experts and one national champion selected.
Philip Crawford, chairman of the group announced: “The winning Ploughman’s was modern but with traditional, authentic, local handmade Cheddar at the heart of this iconic British dish. We are delighted to announce the winner of Strictly Come Ploughman’s 2009 and the coveted Golden Onion trophy is The Apple in Bristol.”
Learning of the win, Ed said: 'We are truly honoured to win this fantastic new award! We have tried to bring the idea of the ploughman’s lunch bang up to date by ensuring every ingredient on the board is of the highest quality, from locally sourced cheeses and pickles, to locally produced paté and handmade pork pies.
A jubilant Ed added:“ But a Ploughman’s is by definition only as good as the ingredients on the board, so this award is a testament to the skills and heritage of the region’s cheesemakers, butchers and picklers who supply us”.
The Apple is due to receive its Golden Onion trophy at the Great British Cheese Festival this weekend (26–27 September) at Cardiff Castle.
Another highlight of the Festival, Professor F Holstein will be conducting scientific taste experiments at the Festival on behalf of West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers, running two ‘Ploughman’s Laboratories’ each day for kids of all ages. Cheese enthusiasts young and old can decide for themselves what accompaniments to handmade Farmhouse Cheddar make the perfect Ploughman’s combination. Professor Holstein will be opening up his ‘cheese labs’ at 11.30am and 3.00pm on Saturday 26, and 12noon and 3.30pm on Sunday 27 September.
Votes for ‘Strictly Come Ploughman’s’ were judged via the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers website and through the online census at www.ploughmanograph.com where cheese lovers have been selecting their ingredients for the perfect Ploughman's from a range of accompaniments. The high-tech ploughmanograph calculates a personal ‘Ploughman's Profile’ for everyone who logs on, with their choices then added to an overall vote totaliser, generating the nation’s ploughman’s recipe.
The Great British Cheese Festival takes place at Cardiff Castle on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September – for details and tickets go to www.thecheeseweb.com.
Royal ploughmans for the Countess
After last years washout , the sun shone brightly on The Countess of Wessex as she attended the PDO lunch and presented Parkham farms with cups for both the reserve champion cheese and best PDO West Country Farmhouse cheddar. The show was a triumph for our other farmhouse cheesemakers too with a total of 40 medals and 7 special awards, just rewards for all the care and craftsmanship that goes into all our handmade cheeses.
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