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President's Medal
  1. Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
  2. Sydney Royal Competitions
  3. Competitions
  4. President's Medal

President's Medal

What started 12 years ago as a celebration of the ‘Supreme Champions’ of the Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Food Shows has evolved to become one of the most unique and prestigious food and beverage awards in Australia, The President’s Medal.

What started 12 years ago as a celebration of the ‘Supreme Champions’ of the Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Food Shows has evolved to become one of the most unique and prestigious food and beverage awards in Australia, The President’s Medal. The Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales is proud to host this spectacular competition, one that invites applications from Champions awarded at each of the Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy, Fine Food, Beer and Cider Competitions.  Sydney Royal Medals are awarded to products of outstanding quality, while the President’s Medal differs in that it judges not only on sensory attributes but on the ‘Triple Bottom Line’. Judges examine the commercial success, environmental integrity and social involvement of the business behind the product. Competitors can be assured of unbiased, expert and ethical judging - the constant hallmarks of any Sydney Royal competition. Simon Marnie, Chair of Judges, has been a President's Medal Judge since the competition's inauguration. He will be supported by Ed Halmagyi, whose culinary career spans more than 20 years and two continents, and Michael Bullen, whose extensive career in primary industries and forestry has seen him responsible for undertaking Research, Development and Education to improve the profitability and productivity of the agricultural sector, experience that is in aligned with the key objectives of the President’s Medal.

The judging panel

Simon Marnie

Chair of Judges

Ed Halmagyi

Judge

Michael Bullen

Judge

Paul Diamond

Market Acceptance Judge

Colin Fassnidge

Guest Chef & Market Acceptance Judge

Past winners

Past winners

RAS President’s Medal Finalists named

RAS President’s Medal Finalists named

The growing national interest in the annual Royal Agricultural Society of NSW’s (RAS) President’s Medal has been emphasised in the list of finalists for the 12 th annual staging of the prestigious award. The six finalists to emerge from the Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Fine Food competitions across the calendar year are; Barossa Fine Foods – Fior Di Cotto – Edinburgh North, South Australia. Black Label Berkshire – Black Label Silver Berkshire Pork – Beverley, Western Australia. Brasserie Bread – Flinders Ranges Sprouted Wheat Loaf – Sydney, NSW. Gage Road Brewing – Red Rye IPA, Fremantle, Western Australia. Gundowring Fine Foods – Gundowring Finest Ice Cream Licorice, Gundowring, Victoria. Poachers Pantry – Smoked Duck Breast, Springrange, NSW. The finalists represent the competitions - Deli Meat, Branded Pork, Beer and Cider, Dairy and Professional Bakery. During 2017 there were 5308 products entered and judged across 488 classes, resulting in 95 Champions. It was an exciting year for Pork, it being the inaugural judging competition. President of the RAS Robert Ryan says to be declared a finalist in the President’s Medal is a massive compliment to any Australian producer and an acknowledgement of  their quality and practices. “To be in this sort of company is a matter of great pride and recognition of a lot of research and development and tireless work by the finalists across every aspect of their production,” Mr Ryan said. “Australia truly is at the top of its game when it comes to food production and ingenuity and the Sydney Royal competitions are evidence of this with each passing year,” he said. President’s Medal finalists are rigorously evaluated based on the quality, marketability, financial integrity and environmental sensitivity of their operations. Following intensive judging including on-site audits and inspections across the coming months, the President’s Medal winner will be announced at a gala evening as part of the Sydney Royal Easter Show at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park on March 28, 2018. Celebrity Sydney chef Colin Fassnidge is a President’s Medal judge and will be guest chef on the night. “I’m excited to be able to work with one of the finalist’s products in what I will present on awards night,” Colin Fassnidge said. “Aussie product is as good as it comes and being able to work with the best of the best is what chefs love,” he said. Another high profile chef Ed Halmagyi is one of the President’s Medal judges travelling the country visiting farms and factories as they study the operations of the six finalists. Ends For interviews and image requests, please contact: Roger White Manager, Public Relations Royal Agricultural Society of NSW T: 02 9704 1453 M: 0478 092 425 E: rwhite@rasnsw.com.au

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And the winner is...

And the winner is...

When your motto is to ‘celebrate the source’, there’s little doubt the entire Brasserie Bread bakery is celebrating today. Rising to the occasion at the President’s Medal Awards dinner, Michael Klausen, Head Baker and Co-Founder, spoke of his passion for single origin bread and the glorious wheat fields of the Flinders Ranges. The story starts with the soil and the little golden nuggets of wheat Brasserie Bread seeks out. They are the source of flavour, aided by the unpolluted air and dry sunny weather. If meat producers take us from paddock to plate, the team at Brasserie Bread follow a very strict field to flour or ground to grain philosophy. “The day my life changed was when I sat down and had a chat with a farmer,” explained Klausen. With a committed attitude to traceability and a willingness to share the journey with the consumer, when you pick up a loaf of Brasserie Bread, the baker knows exactly what paddock it came from and is happy to share the land to loaf story. Picking up the President’s Medal Award, one of the most unique and prestigious food and beverage awards in Australia - for their Flinders Ranges Sprouted Wheat Loaf - Brasserie Bread’s connection with the farmers and the single origin philosophy of their bread has reaped the benefits. Named as the best of the best, from the 5,308 produce entries in Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy, Fine Food, Chocolate and Beer & Cider competitions, Brasserie Bread also collected the DPI Innovation Award for their outstanding innovative achievements. Image: Paul Robbins, Monde Photo

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Bulla Dairy Foods wins 2014 President's Medal

Bulla Dairy Foods wins 2014 President's Medal

WORDS: Alexandra Malfoy Article first appeared RAS Times November 2014 A commitment to product excellence and an unwavering enthusiasm for their craft earned Bulla Dairy Foods (Bulla) the nation’s most prestigious agricultural accolade. Bulla was the cream of the crop at the 2014 Royal Agricultural Society of NSW President's Medal, taking out the top honour to be named Australia's best food producer. A three-time nominee for the award, the Victorian dairy company won the accolade for their 35% Thick Cup Cream. Bulla's James and Jenny Downey received the silver heritage President's Medal and $10,000 at an awards dinner at Sydney Showground on 21 August, 2014, in front of Australia's top food and wine producers. The black-tie event was held in the newly refurbished Stables facility, with guests treated to a unique dinner, created by guest Chef James Viles, of Biota Dining, and Tim Browne, Sydney Showground's Executive Chef, featuring all six President Medal finalists' products. RAS President, Robert Ryan OAM, congratulated Bulla on being named the 'best of the best' in Australian food and agricultural production. "The President's Medal recognises Australian producers that create the highest quality products by sustainable means, which is an outstanding achievement," he said. "Bulla excelled in a field of more than 5,500 entries from around Australia in the Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Fine Food Shows, including 126 champion products." Nick Hickford, Bulla's Sales Marketing and Innovation General Manager, said the industry recognition was an honour for the "entire Bulla family". "Bulla Dairy Foods showed excellence throughout all stages of the judging process to win this prestigious medal. Standing up against the nation's highest calibre food and wine producers is a tremendous honour and illustrates the dedication we have to producing the nation's best dairy products," he said. "To win this award is a testament to the dedication of the staff at Bulla. We demonstrated industry leadership, passion for quality, an emphasis on sustainable business practices and progressive staff initiatives; this is an exciting time for Bulla, now and into the future." The contenders of the President's Medal are six champions across the past year of Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Fine Food Shows. This year, Bulla was up against five excellent finalists: Kaczanowski & Co for its pastrami, Meredith Dairy for its fresh chèvre, Richard Gunner's Fine Meats for its Coorong Angus Premium Grade Black Angus, Watershed Premium Wines for its 2013 Shades Sauvignon Blanc and Morris Wines for its Morris of Rutherglen Old Premium Liqueur Muscat. Simon Marnie, ABC 702 presenter and renowned foodie, has been a member of the President's Medal judging panel since the first award in 2006. As part of the judging process, he travelled to the finalist's properties with fellow judge, NSW Trade and Investment's Stewart Webster, to assess each producer's understanding of their social, environmental and commercial setting. "Bulla impressed the judges this year with all aspects of their triple bottom line impact, but also with their enthusiasm and skills for their respective crafts," Marnie said. "The history of the company is incredible - the same three Australian families have been making dairy products for five generations." Bulla is 100 per cent Australian family owned and has been run by descendants of three families in partnership since the 1900s. Bulla's Thick Cup Cream product dates back to 1910, when Tom Sloan established the company and was the first in Australia to invent a technique of thickening cream by standing open cans in coppers fired by wood, to denature the protein. Bulla has since modified this 'scalding' method, but still employs high heat treatment and smaller batch, boutique-style production to maximise quality. Starting out as a small Melbourne-based cream company, Bulla now offers a broad range of chilled and frozen dairy products including cream, cottage cheese, yoghurt, dairy desserts, ice cream and frozen yoghurt. The business prides itself on delivering 'real diary' taste by producing products made from fresh milk, cream and other quality ingredients. Bulla credits the President's Medal judges' questions with spurring them on to reduce their carbon footprint by 50 per cent with the introduction of their cogeneration plant. Bulla is also committed to looking after their staff and has introduced a well-being program, including health support, fitness programs and nutrition boosts. The company also recently partnered with the Australian Dairy Farmers Co-Operative to supply them with more than 90 million litres of milk per annum, continuing their commitment to sustaining local industry. Nick Hickford said Bulla was thrilled to be recognised for their continuous drive to innovate whilst maintaining their heritage and traditional manufacturing methods. "We felt the judging process was well rounded and took into account not only our processes and the quality of our product, but also the Bulla company values. It was an honour to have been recognised for industry leadership, passion for quality, sustainable business practices and our progressive staff initiatives," he said. The RAS President's Medal is an annual award that has been recognising Australia's best food and agricultural producers since 2006. Past winners of the award have included Tahbilk Winery, Milly Hill Lamb, Yalumba, Holy Goat Cheese, Paringa Estate, Country Valley, Hardys and Tathra Oysters.

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