The winners of the 41st sofi Awards for the outstanding specialty foods and beverages of the year were announced this evening at The Specialty Food Association presented its sofi awards yesterday at a red-carpet ceremony in New York hosted by internationally acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson.

There was a tie for the best new product. The winners are:
• Artisan Biscuits Ltd.'s The Fine Cheese Co. Pearls of Pure Goats' Cheese
• Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.'s Point Reyes Bay Blue

The Summer Fancy Food Show ends today at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. The sofi awards are open to members of the Specialty Food Association (formerly NASFT), a not-for-profit trade association for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs. "sofi" stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation. This year's contest was the largest in its 41-year history, with specialty food makers submitting 2,573 products across all 32 awards categories.

Other dairy sofi winners are (category: winner)::
Baked Good, Baking Ingredient or Cereal: Fromagerie Belle Chevre, Goat Cheese Cheesecake
Cheese or Dairy Product (tie)
• Caves of Faribault: Jeffs' Select (photo courtesy of Specialty Food Association. Photography by Mark Ferri)
• Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Toma
Classic: Cypress Grove Chevre, Inc., Humboldt Fog
Dessert or Dessert Topping: McConnell's Fine Ice Creams, Double Peanut Butter Chip
Diet and Lifestyle Product: Fromagerie Belle Chevre, Belle & The Bees Breakfast Cheese
Product Line: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (photo: Jeni Britton Bauer)

"The sofi awards honor innovation and excellence. With a record number of entries this year, the products that emerged as winners truly represent the best examples of the passion, creativity and care specialty food makers are bringing to their craft," said Specialty Food Association President Ann Daw.

This spring, a national panel of specialty food professionals convened over eight days to taste and evaluate all entries and select 125 finalists. To determine the winners, more than 150 buyers at the Summer Fancy Food Show sampled the finalist products and cast votes for their favorite in each category. The results were tabulated by an outside accounting firm this afternoon.

Other winners are:
Appetizer Antipasto, Salsa or Dip: Gourmetdu Village, Hot Parmesan & Artichoke Dip Mix
Chocolate: Chocolat Moderne, Avant-Garde Bar Blood Orange Bergamot Flavor
Cold Beverage (tie)
• Brands of Britain: Fever-Tree Premium Sparkling Lemon
• Canada Enterprises: Jin-Ja
Condiment: The Virginia Chutney Company, Spicy Plum Chutney
Confection: The Sticky Toffee Pudding Company, Chocolate Tiffin with Biscuits, Roasted Almonds & Cherries
Cookie: Tate's Bake Shop, Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip
Cooking Sauce or Flavor Enhancer: Korean Delights, We Rub You, Spicy Korean BBQ Marinade
Cracker: Lesley Stowe Fine Foods Salty Date and Almond Raincoast Crisps
Food Gift: Bee Raw, Manhattan Rooftop Honey Flight
Frozen Savory: Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co., Old Port Lobster Flatbread
Hot Beverage: Bhakti Chai, Bhakti Chai
Innovation in Packaging Design or Function: HoneyPax, HoneyPax Raw Tupelo Honey Packets
Jam, Preserve, Honey or Nut Butter: Wildly Delicious Fine Foods, Beet & Red Onion Marmalade
Meat, Pate or Seafood: Creminelli Fine Meats, Campania Handcrafted Italian Salami, Booth
Non-Food Specialty Item: EcoTensil Inc., EcoTaster Mini
Oil: Los Chileros, Stoger Cherry Seed Oil
Pasta Sauce: Ritrovo Italian Regional Foods, Ritrovo Selections Casina Rossa Due Formaggi
Pasta, Rice or Grain: Luquire Family Foods, Carolina Creole Stone Ground Grits
Perishable Foodservice Product: Sukhi's Gourmet Indian Foods, Pakora & Aloo Tikki Indian Bites Platter
Salad Dressing: NaGo Foods, Ginger Sesame Miso Dressing
Shelf-Stable Foodservice Product: Effie's Homemade, Single Serve Oatcakes
Snack Food: POP! Gourmet Popcorn, Rogue Blue Gourmet Popcorn
Soup, Stew, Bean or Chili: Sarabeth's Kitchen, Legendary Velvety Cream of Tomato Soup
USDA-Certified Organic Product: Pro Ecuador, RUNA Hibiscus, Berry Guayusa Tea
Vinegar: Italian Harvest, Inc., Sopraffino 12 Year Aged Wine Vinegar

About the Specialty Food Association
The Specialty Food Association is a not-for-profit trade association for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs established in 1952 in New York City to foster commerce and interest in the specialty food industry.