Gamber Produce Ltd, Herefordshire, has won the Fresh Produce category at the prestigious HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF) Diamond Award for its Maris Piper Chateau Potatoes.

Winners of the third annual HEFF Diamond Awards were revealed at the Gala Dinner which took place on Saturday at Aston Villa Football Club, Birmingham.

The awards celebrate the fantastic food and drink available in the Heart of England region which includes Shropshire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Birmingham and The Black Country.

There were nine product categories that food and drink producers were vying to win: Bakery & Confectionery, sponsored by Tesco Stores Ltd; Condiments and Preserves, sponsored by Taste of Birmingham; Dairy, sponsored by NOM Dairy UK Ltd; Desserts, sponsored by Heart Distribution; Drinks, sponsored by The Belfry; Fresh Produce, sponsored by Hatchers Solicitors LLP; Meat, sponsored by EBLEX and BPEX; Poultry and Game, sponsored by Whittingham Riddell and Prepared Foods, sponsored by Asda.

Gamber Produce Ltd won the Fresh Produce category, sponsored by Hatchers Solicitors LLP, for its Maris Piper Chateau Potatoes beating off competition from fellow Herefordshire company Flights Organic Orchard Ltd, Ledbury, with its Red Pippin Apple and Red Windsor Apple and from Manor Farm Fruits, Staffordshire, with its Jubilee Strawberries.

Patrick Lewis of Gamber Produce Ltd said: "We’re delighted to have won, it’s all down to the team as we grow and prepare the potatoes ourselves and we sell them ourselves. I hope winning the award will increase our profile and our sales."

Kit’s Kitchen, Worcestershire, won the Condiments & Preserves category, sponsored by Taste of Birmingham, for its Pickled Shallots. They won with this product at the 2008 Diamond Awards.

Judges said this product had a ‘sweet subtle flavour with a hot peppery back note and excellent sweetness complimented with a slight heat.’

Kit Bamford of Kit’s Kitchen said: "It’s an outstanding achievement to have won this award twice for the Pickled Shallots. There’s even more prestige this year as more and more people are becoming aware of the HEFF Diamond Awards. It underpins a lot of hard work from the staff and we know it’s a good product but winning the award means we can really shout about it."

The Maris Piper Chateau Potatoes and Pickled Shallots then went head to head with the winners of each product category for the highly coveted Special Diamond Award for Taste sponsored by Musgrave Retail Partners. This prestigious award was won by Adlington Ltd, Coventry, for its Smoked Turkey.

There were also three highly coveted Special Diamonds Awards which recognise business achievement in the food and drink industry. These awards were for Grow, sponsored by Business Link West Midlands; Innovate, sponsored by the West Midlands Regional Food Academy and Excel, sponsored by Advantage West Midlands.

The 250 guests at the Diamond Awards Gala Dinner enjoyed a sumptous six course menu using some of the region’s finest produce. This was created by a Brigade of Chefs representing the British Culinary Federation.

After the dinner and awards ceremony guests were entertained with music from Soul Supply.