Herefordshire-based organic dairy company The Dairy House has beaten off competition from more than 70 other specialist food and drink producers across the West Midlands to win the first Special Diamond ‘Excel’ Award at a prestigious new awards ceremony. The Diamond Awards, which have been established by the Heart of England Fine Foods (HEFF) association to recognise high quality local producers, were presented at the HEFF 10th anniversary dinner of the decade event held in Coventry .

The Diamond Awards were open to food and drink producers across Birmingham, the Black Country, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire and attracted more than 280 entries. The Excel Prize was one of four Special Diamond awards and looked at all aspects of the business; from processes and systems to business initiatives and of course the product itself. Judges included Andreas Antona, founder of the Michelin-starred Simpsons restaurant in Birmingham, as well as senior representatives from Asda, Tesco and the British Culinary Foundation. The judges commented on The Dairy House’s ‘excellent products, excellent taste and good range’ and concluded that it is ‘a good sound company looking to grow big’.

The Dairy House, based in Weobley, has been in the business for more than 30 years and produces an array of organic dairy products including yoghurt, cheese, cream and cheesecake. All of the milk used in the range comes from the Herefordshire farms belonging to the four farmers who own the company. One of the owners Colin Andrews says: “The business has grown so much in the last 12 months; we have extended our production facilities, developed new products and attended a variety of farmers markets and food festivals.

“I think the secret of our success is that we haven’t lost sight of what is important to us and to our customers. This award is a great achievement for us and we hope to keep building the business in the same way.” This is the latest accolade in a growing collection of awards for The Dairy House, which also won Gold Stars for two of its yoghurts in the 2007 Great Taste awards and won the Waitrose Small Producers Award for Business in 2004.