The Quirky Cook crowdfunds to grow Award Winning brand

Kay Hawkins, the Quirky Cook is an Award-winning Artisan Food Producer based in Borrowash, Derby.  Kay formed her company in 2008, and her reputation has grown since.

Kay says “My products are hand made from scratch, using local ingredients wherever possible and are free from artificial colours, flavourings and sweeteners. Through careful selection of ingredients that I chose for my recipes, unnatural preservatives and allergens are virtually eliminated.  My passion for handmade produce has evolved from a background of home cooking and baking. From early childhood, I recall memories of simple, yet satisfying wholesome family meals and lots of pickling and preserving! Fresh ingredients from our garden, the hedgerows, orchards and fields would be transformed into something very special.”

Kay has previously won Great Taste Awards for her products but 2018 has been a fantastic year for her.  All 4 products entered into this year’s competition were awarded a Great Taste Award.

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Hot Piccalilli and the Apple and Date Relish with Black Garlic were both awarded a 1-Star and her Red Pepper and Apricot Relish with Black Garlic achieved 2-Stars. But it was her Honeyed Fig Relish with Black Garlic that completely stole the show; awarded 3-Stars, nominated for a Regional Golden Fork Award, winning the category “Ambient Product of the Year” and getting through to the top 18 products to be voted for “Supreme Champion of the Year”.

Kay adds “I was invited to the Golden Fork Awards Dinner which took place last Sunday at the Intercontinental Park Lane London and asked if I would do a pre-Dinner Taster Table for the 300 guests who were attending, alongside 17 other 3-star award-winning producers.  That was an amazing experience…we met so many interesting and influential people for sure!

The Regional Nominations were announced and for the Midlands I was one of three producers competing for the Golden Fork Trophy. However, it was awarded to Macneil’s Smokehouse from Droitwich for their Beech Wood Smoked Salmon. But things took an amazing twist…

The Guild of Fine Food also award a Golden Fork Trophy for a number of categories and one was “Ambient Product of the Year” sponsored by Petty Wood & Co….and my Honeyed Fig Relish with Black Garlic won! Not only that, it was then announced that it had been voted into the final 18 products for their top accolade “Supreme Champion of the Year.”

Although, it didn’t win, we’re sure you’ll agree with us that to be nominated for Supreme Champion is an amazing achievement. 12,634 products had been judged in the Great Taste 2018 awards; this was done over 65 days by over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers, as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists.

With such an awesome endorsement of her products, Kay is now looking to grow her brand and expand her range. She also needs a new mobile-friendly professional website with an online shop so that more of us can buy her fabulous products.

To achieve this, she has launched a Crowd Funding Campaign to raise the £5,000 needed https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/make-a-pledge-make-it-happen  You can either simply donate to help Kay build her business, or you can claim one of the reward packages available and receive a pack of goodies including a 200g jar of one of the Quirky Cook relishes.

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