Cherries Pipped at the National Fruit Show - 28/10/2009

Although cherry tomato Piccolo and its baby brother Piccolini took five of the top six places at last week's Tastiest Tomato Competition at the National Fruit Show in Kent, the judges again pulled out a plum as the overall winner - a baby plum in fact, Santini, grown by Andy Roe of Flavourfresh Salads. Andy's entry headed the field for the second year running in the competition organised by the British Tomato Growers' Association. In addition to prize money from sponsors Marks & Spencer, it earned him the David Stapley trophy, awarded by the TGA in memory of the celebrated tomato grower from Kent.

Multi Michelin Star winning restaurateur and chef Raymond Blanc was invited to join this year's judging panel, a real coup for the TGA. He was shadowed by a BBC film crew working on his new series, Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets, to be launched before Christmas. 'We were delighted that Raymond Blanc could take part and were really interested to see if his opinions matched those of our regular team of four experienced judges,' said TGA Spokesman Gerry Hayman. 'As you would expect, he is exceptionally demanding in terms of the food ingredients he uses, but his assessment of the winners matched those of our other judges exactly.'

Although the competition is staged towards the end of the British tomato season, there were over 30 entries in four separate classes at the show, ranging from tiny cherries to buxom beefsteaks. Despite another poor summer, with potato blight putting paid to many back garden crops, the season is ending on a high for British commercial growers, with excellent fruit meeting a strong demand in the fine autumn weather. The standard of entries was better than ever, according to the judges.

The NFS event follows the tastiest tomato competition at West Dean Gardens in Sussex in September where the TGA invites commercial growers and private gardeners to go head to head in a taste challenge. The professionals again swept the board in 2009, taking all top ten places. 'It really shouldn't come as any surprise that professional growers with years of skill and experience and sophisticated glasshouses, in which to get the best out of their crops in our unpredictable climate, win the day,' added Gerry Hayman. 'Maybe we should raise the stakes and challenge our European competitors to a competition – now wouldn't that be interesting!'

For those wondering why tomatoes appear at the National Fruit Show, it's because they are of course a fruit. For more information and photographs, contact the British Tomato Growers’ Association on 01243 554859 or tga@britishtomatoes.co.uk