Sydney Royal Fine Food Winners Highlight Emerging Industry Trends

Australia’s finest food products were in the spotlight this evening as the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW announced the Champion Award winners of the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show.

More than 1,300 products from across the country were assessed over a five-week judging period, spanning seven competitions: Aquaculture, Branded Meat, Oil & Olives, Pasta, Professional Bakery, Smallgoods & Charcuterie, and Specialty Foods.

This year’s competition recognised 40 Champion Award winners and awarded more than 1,000 medals. With 26% of entries achieving gold medal status, up from 20% last year, the results reflect the exceptional quality of Australia’s food industry.

“The quality of entries this year was outstanding, showcasing the innovation, craftsmanship, and technical excellence that continues to define Australia’s fine food industry,” said Michael Bullen, Chair of the Fine Food Committee.

“The competition continues to grow in line with industry developments, and consumers and chefs alike can look to the Sydney Royal competitions for an insight into the emerging trends shaping Australia’s food industry. Key to this is the rigour and quality of the judging process where the highest standards and independence are maintained.”

Lifestyle food products continue to gain momentum, building on growth seen in recent years. Professional Bakery’s newly introduced gluten-free classes produced outstanding results, with Wholegreen Bakery’s Vegan Gluten-Free Plain Sourdough and ISEO Patisserie’s Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Cake going on to win the overall Champion Bread and Champion Cake awards respectively.

“The introduction of dedicated gluten-free classes this year was a direct response to growing interest in the category, and the results exceeded expectations. Feedback from chefs has been overwhelmingly positive, with the new classes providing an independent benchmark for identifying high-quality gluten-free products,” said Bullen.

In the Specialty Foods competition, Australian native ingredients were a notable trend this year, reflecting their growing presence in Australia’s food industry. Ingredients such as lemon myrtle, wattleseed, Davidson plum and lilly pilly appeared across categories from preserves to confectionery, with Ziggy’s Wildfoods earning Champion Sweet Preserve in its debut show for its Wild Lilly Pilly, Strawberry & Gin Botanical Jam.

This year saw a resurgence of traditional products such as beef tallow, with eight entries highlighting renewed interest in a previously niche category. At the same time, producers pushed boundaries with creative twists on classic favourites including eucalypt fudge, popcorn buttercream and sourdough marble cake.

“The diversity of products on display this year was particularly impressive. Alongside a number of innovative entries, we also saw ingredients such as macadamia and walnut flour appear in the competition for the first time, while Australia’s first sesame oil producer was recognised with both a gold and silver medal.”

Branded Meat was the strongest performing competition this year with 99% of entries awarded a medal, and almost 40% gold. Stockyard Beef claimed the Dick Stone Perpetual Trophy for the Grand Champion Branded Meat Exhibit for the third consecutive year, with their Stockyard Black, while first-time entrants Capra Meats took home the inaugural trophy for Champion Specialty Meat for their Halal Goat Meat.

The Oil & Olives competition saw Gooramadda Olives defend their title for Champion Table Olives for an impressive sixth consecutive year, while fellow producer Alto Olives was one of only two producers to receive two Champion Awards, winning Champion Boutique Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Champion Blended Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Commercial Volume.

The second exhibitor to achieve this feat was Sunshine Meats in the Smallgoods & Charcuterie competition, awarded Champion Ham for their Double Smoked Bone-In Ham, and Champion Chorizo for their Duck Chorizo.

All products entered into the Sydney Royal competitions must be made from at least 85% Australian ingredients, with the aim of celebrating Australian produce and agriculture.

All 2026 Sydney Royal Fine Food Champions are listed below. Full results, including gold, silver and bronze medals, can be found on the RAS website.

View Full Results

2026 Sydney Royal Fine Food Champions

Aquaculture

Champion Pacific or Native Oyster:
Pristine Oyster Farm for its Pristine Oyster Farm Premium

Champion Smoked or Cured Farmed Salmon/Trout:
By Kai for its Hot Smoked Rainbow Trout

Branded Meat

Champion Lamb:
Tasmanian Lamb Co for its Lamb of Tasmania

Champion Pork:
Dewsburys Free Range Pork for its Dewsburys Pork Loin, 6–8kg

Champion Beef:
Stockyard Beef for its Stockyard Black

Champion Poultry:
The Food Farm for its Certified Organic Fed Pasture Raised Chicken

Champion Specialty Meats:
Capra Meats for its Halal Goat Meat

The Dick Stone Perpetual Trophy for Branded Meat Grand Champion Exhibit:
Stockyard Beef for its Stockyard Black

Oil & Olives

Champion Boutique Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
Alto Olives for its Alto Vividus EVOO

Champion Single Varietal Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Commercial Volume):
Cobram Estate for its Ultra Premium Picual Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Champion Blended Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Commercial Volume):
Alto Olives for its Alto Robust EVOO

Champion Flavoured Oil:
Rio Vista Olives for its Paul Farag X Rio Vista Olives Sahawiq

Champion Culinary Oil:
Pepo Farms for its Cold Pressed Hazelnut Oil 250ml

Champion Table Olives:
Gooramadda Olives for its Kalamata Olives

Pasta

Champion Fresh Pasta:
Mancini Pasta for its Fresh Riccia

Champion Dried Pasta:
Duro Pasta for its Gigli

Champion Filled Pasta:
Le Saucier for its Coq Au Champagne Ravioli

Champion Gnocchi:
Bianco for its Goats Cheese & Chive Gnocconi

Champion Gluten Free Pasta:
Gluten Free Pasta Di Casa for its Gluten Free Casarecce

Professional Bakery

Champion Bread:
Wholegreen Bakery for its Vegan Gluten-Free Plain Sourdough 500g

Champion Cake:
ISEO Patisserie for its ISEO Vegan G.F Banana Cake

Champion Biscuit:
Sweet Ivy for its Lemon Macaron

Champion Pastry:
Little Secrets Bakehouse for its Citrus Meringue Tart

Best Professional Bakery Apprentice/Student Exhibit:
Atlee Manners for their White Sour Dough Loaf, Soy & Linseed Sourdough Loaf, Cranberry Sourdough Loaf

Smallgoods & Charcuterie

Champion Bacon:
Scottsdale Pork for its Scottsdale Pork Maple Bacon

Champion Ham:
Sunshine Meats for its Double Smoked Bone-In Ham

Champion Salami Type Products:
Goose on the Loose for its Chilli Bomb Salami 250gm

Champion Dried or Cured Product:
Andrew’s Meat Industries for its Tajima Wagyu Bresaola

Champion Jerky or Biltong Type Product:
Uncle Bluey’s Biltong for its Mango Peri-Peri Biltong

Champion Other Charcuterie Product (Annual Trophy sponsored by NSW Food Authority):
Fettayleh Foods for its Wagyu Smoked Beef

Champion Chorizo:
Sunshine Meats for its Duck Chorizo

Champion Fresh Sausage:
Tender Gourmet Butchery for its Hot Honey – Pork, Pineapple and Habanero Chilli

Specialty Foods

Champion Sweet Preserve or Product:
Ziggy’s Wildfoods for its Wild Lilly Pilly, Strawberry & Gin Botanical Jam 250gm

Champion Savoury Preserve or Product:
The Chilli Tribe for its Spiced Mango Chutney

Champion Pickled or Fermented Product:
Conjurup Food Company for its Sliced Spiced & Succulent Lemon Condiment – Condiment Au Citron

Champion Vinegar:
Grampians Vinegar for its Malt Vinegar

Champion Chocolate or Confectionery:
Gamila at Beechworth for its Ruby Grapefruit Pate De Fruit

Champion Drinks:
Rice Culture for its Organic Black Koji Amazake

Champion Plant Based Product:
Holy Nuts for its Pure Pistachio Butter

Champion Other Specialty Foods:
Pacific Salt for its Olssons Red Gum Smoked Salt

Champion Coffee:
Buderim Mountain Gold Coffee Company for its Mountain Gold Ground 250gm

Media Contact

Nicola Dalby
Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
M: 0434 579 906
E: ndalby@rasnsw.com.au