FOOD businesses from North Wales were out celebrating last night after taking gold at the Welsh food "Oscars". The House of Rhug, Corwen, and Swan's Farm Shop, Mold, took top honours in this year's True Taste/Gwir Flas Wales Food and Drink Awards. Welsh Lady Preserves, from Pwllheli, and Welsh Farm Organics, Newtown, also won coveted gold medals at last night's televised award ceremony in the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. Gold medals are only awarded to food businesses with exceptional products or services. Gail Swan, who won Gold in the Retailer/Farm Shop category, was delighted with her award. She said: "I knew we must be doing something right because our customers tell us that our shop is one in a million." Judges taste-tested almost 500 products from 177 companies to arrive at their short-list of just 37 finalists. WDA Agri-Food director Arwyn Davies said the medal winners could now expect an up-turn in business. He said: "We know that being a True Taste winner will bring all the winners vital brand recognition and priceless publicity." Conwy butcher Ieuan Edwards, a multi-medal winner from previous years, was named Wales' True Taste Ambassador for 2005-06. He will be the public face of the Welsh food and drink industry for the next 12 months. He said: "As ambassador I feel passionately we have to realise we are one industry - from farmer to manufacturer to distributor to retailer - and without each other we are nothing. "Mike Ruddock thinks he has got a great team in Welsh rugby but he's got nothing on us." The awards ceremony will be broadcast on ITV1 Wales in an hour-long programme broadcast on Monday, November 28. Selected resultsGold House of Rhug, Corwen - home-reared lamb (organic category); Welsh Farm Organics, New-town - web-based retailer; Swans, Treuddyn - retailer/farm shop; Welsh Lady Preserves, Pwllheli - horseradish sauce (medium manufacturer). Silver KK Fine Foods, Deeside - chopped leek & Caerphilly sausages/ burgers (large manufacturer); Llaeth Y Llan/Village Dairy, Denbigh - strawberry low fat yoghurt (medium manufacturer); Pysgod Llyn Seafoods, Pwllheli - Aljotta fish soup ( smaller manufacturer). Bronze Anne's Patisserie, Mold - Cherry Bakewell Tart. Commended Gorau Glas, Dwyran, Anglesey - Caws Gorau Glas; Organic Aran Lamb, Llanuwchlyn, Bala - organic lamb; House of Rhug, Corwen - organic farmhouse sausage; Welsh Lady Preserves, Pwllheli - apple & cinnamon curd; Llaeth-y-Llan, Denbigh - breakfast yoghurt apple & cereal; and plain natural yoghurt; Pysgod Llyn Seafoods, Pwllheli - Chicken liver pâté; Popty'r Bryn, Brynsiencyn - treacle toffee; Goetre Farm Preserves, Barmouth - Welsh Farmhouse Chutney; Edwards of Conwy - retailer//farm shop. * REGIONAL finalists in the Countryside Alliance's Best Rural Retailer competition were also selected. They are: House of Rhug, Rhug Estate, Corwen; Wrenbury Village Stores, Cheshire; Swans Farm Shop, Treuddyn, Mold; John Sigsworth, North Wales Buffalo, Halkyn. Countryside Alliance regional director Barry Henderson said: "The passion of our finalists is clear. They are the unsung heroes of rural enterprise." The regional winner will be selected from a panel which includes Daily Post Rural Affairs Editor Andrew Forgrave. _______________________________ farming@dailypost.co.uk | 
