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ATLANTA — The Flavor of Georgia contest may have only awarded one plaque per category of foods, sauces, jams and beverages Tuesday, but most of the companies in the finals came away a winner.
That’s because part of making the finals in the contest of the University of Georgia and the Department of Agriculture means showcasing products for grocers, restaurant owners and distributors.
“It’s a nice way to get exposure,” said Amy Shippy, co-owner of Maison de Macarons of Savannah.
This year more than 125 products were judged by a panel of food experts. Most are fairly new products, like the Tybee Turtle French Macarons Shippy’s three-year-old Savannah bakery makes.
The bakery also submitted Bourbon Pecan French Macarons but failed to make the finals with them.
“We just entered the contest on sort of a whim,” Shippy said.
But co-owner Laura Hale said being able to offer samples to the grocery, restaurant owners and distributors was the most profitable experience.
“We find that the best way for people to know about our product is for people to try them,” she said.
Leoci’s, another Savannah company, had two products make the finals, raspberry-jalapeno jam which won the People’s Choice Award, and handcrafted, smoked duck-breast Prosciutto. It’s smoked lonza, smoked pancetta and ketchup Calabrese didn’t make the finals but were included in the catalog given to food buyers who sampled the wares Monday.
Roberto Leoci said the experience had paid off even before the judging.
His products are sold in the local Whole Foods and Kroger’s, but his advertising has been mostly word of mouth until the contest.
For Matthew McClune and his three brothers, the Vidalia onion sausage their father began making in his Ogeechee Meat Market in Hinesville in 1999 isn’t a new product. But it hasn’t been widely marketed beyond Savannah where they moved the butcher shop during the Gulf War. So they entered the contest as a way to branch out and snagged the prize for best meat and seafood.
“We get all our meat from Alma, Ga., and we make our own spices,” he said. And of course, the onions are from Vidalia, but flash frozen by a company in Jefferson to ensure a year-round supply.
The overall winner was Nature’s Harmony Georgia Gold Clothbound Cheddar Cheese, made from the milk of Jersey cows owned by Tim Young of Elberton.
