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The Finger Lakes Foodie Award winners have been announced -- in a ceremony Monday at Finger Lakes Community College.
As we knew from the list of finalists named in January, the winners tilt a little to the western side of the region. That is, more Rochester than Syracuse, even though contestants from both cities were eligible.
The contest, sponsored by Finger Lakes Food Revolution, began last fall with nominations in such categories as best "locavore" restaurant (one that uses local ingredients), best restaurant dish using such local ingredients, best local beer and wine, best local food events and best local food products and ingredients.
In January, those nominations were whittled down to two finalists in each of 14 categories. The winners were chosen through online voting.
The foodie awards grew out of a Iron Chef-style culinary competition with Finger Lakes chefs that has been organized by the Canandaigua-based Finger Lakes Visitors Connection. The group has staged that event the past few years at the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua. That event was called Slice, Dice and Spice NY.
The new format is meant to showcase not just the chefs and restaurants, but the wine, cheese, beer and other products that are specific to the region.
Here are winners for 2013:
Best Finger Lakes Food Event
Winner: Finger Lakes Cork & Fork, Seneca Falls
Finalist: Finger Lakes Restaurant Week, region-wide
Best Finger Lakes Artisanal Cheese
Winner: Lively Run Goat Dairy, Interlaken
Finalist: Muranda Cheese Co., Waterloo
Best Finger Lakes Farmers Market
Winners (tie): Rochester Public Market, Ithaca Farmers Market
Best Finger Lakes Packaged Food
Winner: Chef Lerman Creations for the Home, Penn Yan
Finalist: Woodstead and K&S Foods, Naples
Best Finger Lakes Non-Alcoholic Beverage or Juice
Winner: Red Jacket Orchards' Fuji Apple Juice, Geneva
Finalist: CheriBundi, Geneva
Best Finger Lakes White Wine
Winner: Bet the Farm Winery's Traminette, Aurora
Finalist: Billsboro Winery's Riesling, Geneva
Best Finger Lakes Red Wine
Winner: King's Garden Vineyards' King's Cab, Lodi
Finalist: Red Newt Cellars' Cabernet Franc, Hector
Best Finger Lakes Microbrew
Winner: ROC Brewing Co.'s What the Fuggle, Rochester
Finalist: Naked Dove Brewing Co.'s 45 Fathom Porter, Canandaigua
Best Use of Finger Lakes Ingredient in a Side Dish
Winner: Lento Restaurant's Duck Fat Frites, Rochester
Finalist: Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine's Carrot Soufflé, Lodi
Best Use of Finger Lakes Ingredients in an Entree
Winner: The Copper Oven's Love of Curry Pizza, Ovid
Finalist: Hazelnut Kitchen's Pork Loin, Trumansburg
Best Use of Finger Lakes Ingredients in a Dessert
Winner: Simply Crepes' The Great Grape Crepe, Pittsford, Canandaigua
Finalist: Hazelnut Kitchen's Sweet Corn Bread, Trumansburg
Best Locavore Restaurant Menu in the Finger Lakes
Winner: Leaf Kitchen, Geneva
Finalist: Aurora Inn Dining Room, Aurora
Best Variety of Local Produce
Winner: Seneca Breeze Berries, Penn Yan
Finalist: None