Last night, the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) announced the champion winners of the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, after three weeks of judging oils, meats, dips, pastas, baked goods and more at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.
Judged throughout the month of August, 1,657 entries were assessed across 72 classes and seven unique competitions: Aquaculture, Branded Meats, Oils & Olives, Professional Bakery, Pasta, Smallgoods & Charcuterie, and Specialty Foods.
Entries were judged on factors including presentation and flavour profile, with each product scored by a panel of 110 judges. Depending on the score achieved, producers were awarded gold, silver or bronze medals and from that pool, thirty-seven champion titles were announced last night.
All products entered into the Sydney Royal competitions must be made from at least 85% Australian ingredients and aimed at celebrating Australian produce and agriculture.
Royal Fine Food Chair, Michael Bullen, said: “This year’s competition saw over 1,600 entries, which is a 15% increase on 2024, with exhibits undergoing blind-judging by some of our country’s best manufacturers, food scientists, chefs, and more. From that judging, we have awarded an array of deserving gold, silver, and bronze medals, and of course, crowned our champion products.”
The champions
Champions crowned tonight include Edible Alchemy, which took home Champion Chocolate or Confectionery for its Cowboy Candy, a confectionery product of jalapeño soaked in sugar syrup, and Champion Sweet Preserve for its Kimchi Honey Syrup.
In the professional bakery competition, Slowbreads Roseville was awarded Champion Sourdough for the second time, this year with its Fig, Cranberry and Walnut sourdough, while Champion Pie went to the PieFather for its MickTaco pie.
Mandolé Orchard also retained its title in 2025, winning Champion Plant-Based Product for the second year, this time with its Honey Almond Butter.
In the meat categories, Stockyard Beef reigned supreme once again, winning The Dick Stone Perpetual Trophy for Grand Champion Beef Exhibit with its Stockyard Black, and Millin’s Free Range Butcher won The Champion Fresh Sausage Perpetual Trophy with its Beef Philly Cheesesteak Sausages.
For the coffee lovers, Australian-grown coffee supplier Coffee Mentality took out Champion Coffee thanks to its “Auditory” Blend 200g, and Champion Drink went to Rice Culture for its Rice Culture Organic Black Koji Amazake.
In total, the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show awarded 312 Gold medals, 549 Silver and 434 Bronze medals.
The Royal Fine Foods competition has been running since 1998, when food competitions were branching off into independent entities. It’s become a way to spotlight local agriculture and give props to the makers behind quality food in an engaging, gamified format.
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