Jan Bentley, centre, with wife Nicola, to his right, and mother Tineke on his left

Jan Bentley, centre, with wife Nicola, to his right, and mother Tineke on his left

The fresh produce industry cleaned up at the annual Yorkshire Regional Food Group’s Deliciouslyorkshire Awards 2008-09 on Monday night.

Foodservice provider Stuart’s Foods and grower WS Bentley’s scooped the Fresh Produce Award and Innovation of the Year Award, respectively, at Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate.

WS Bentley, which was also nominated for the Fresh Produce Award, won the Yorkshire Forward-sponsored accolade for its new And Sow On brand of alfalfa and mixed bean ready-to-eat salads. The team were delighted as growers to be recognised for innovation, above nominated food companies Fosters Bakery and Kitchen Guru.

Jan Bentley, managing director and third generation of family growers, told FPJ on the night: “I am really proud to win this award. The brand represents a lot of effort by a lot of people, from the development of trials to promotional work with Deliciouslyorkshire. It has been a big team effort.

“It just shows that innovation is applicable to fresh produce and it pays to be imaginative.”

WS Bentley diversified from growing salad cress for the foodservice sector four years ago, in an effort to supply supermarkets and expand its customer and product base. The firm conducted extensive consumer research and tested more than 15 different products before it released And Sow On alfalfa and mixed beans into selected Co-op and Spar stores, as well as into Yorkshire’s Waitrose stores.

The company will now focus on launching a new salad mix of alfalfa and leek seedlings in mid-January 2009 and two more new product launches are planned for next March.

Scarborough-based Stuart’s Foods won the Fresh Produce Award for its roast vegetable mix for the public sector. The family company supplies hospitals and schools with roast vegetable mixes that cater to the individual kitchen’s needs.

Stuart Howarth, co-director and founder of the firm, told FPJ: “We started off preparing potatoes for caterers 27 years ago. Four years ago, we decided to develop the business and look at fruit and vegetables. We won the Large Producer of the Year Award last year and it really raised our profile.”

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