Winner of The World Marmalade Awards
- Editor OGN Daily
- 42 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Preserving English eccentricity, this year's awards drew more than 3,200 entries from locations as far-flung as South Korea, New Zealand and Botswana.
"What could unite octogenarian Cumbrian farmers, diplomats from Japan, Spain and Australia and Paddington Bear?" said The Guardian. "The answer, of course, is marmalade."
The World Marmalade Awards celebrated its 20th year at Dalemain Mansion, near Penrith in Cumbria (home of the famous Lake District), last weekend. It was a "showcase of English eccentricity", with a flock of "spray-painted orange sheep", a "giant red squirrel" and Paddington "wandering among the marmalade aficionados".
The event has become a global attraction since being launched in 2005 by local resident Jane Hasell-McCosh, in a bid to lure tourists to Cumbria as the rural county reeled from an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Every year it has grown, with 2025 drawing 3,200 entries.
The contenders featured a variety of quirky ingredients, from Scotland's bright-orange Irn-Bru to Belgian blue beer and Taiwanese orchids. Hitomi Wakamura, from Japan, scooped first place with her yuzu and pear marmalade - the first time in the competition's history that an overseas contestant has been awarded the top prize.
Each jar of marmalade is tasted at the stately pile in the Lake District National Park by a panel of expert judges, said The Times. Marks are awarded on everything from colour and clarity to peel proportion, sweetness and aroma. "I've been to the festival twice, and it's properly magical. Eccentric, totally charming and very, very British. I can't think why Richard Curtis hasn't made a film about it (yet)."