Category 01
Tomato of the Year
Flavour across all four Taste Lab panels, availability to home growers, and performance in community trials.
Category 02
Best British Tomato
Grown in the UK, verified holding, flavour scores plus consistency reported across at least three regions.
Category 03
Best Heritage Tomato
Open-pollinated, documented history, seed obtainable by readers, and strong blind flavour scores.
Category 04
Best New Variety
Introduced within five years, trialled by at least ten independent growers, with recorded yield and disease notes.
Category 05
Best Tomato Dish
Named variety, named grower, seasonal availability, and a dish that improves the tomato rather than disguising it.
Category 06
Best Tomato Grower
Verified grower status, transparency of method, quality reported by chefs and readers, and treatment of soil and staff.
Category 07
Best Restaurant Tomato Dish
Provenance recorded in Where The Tomatoes Go, chef comment on file, and availability during the British season.
Category 08
Reader's Tomato
Reader tasting notes and trial reports only. One vote per verified reader.
Category 09
Chef's Tomato
Chef panel scores only, collected blind wherever practical.
How judging works
- 1. Evidence is drawn from the Taste Lab, the Trials and the provenance records — not from submissions alone.
- 2. Panels are named on publication, with any interests declared.
- 3. Blind tasting wherever the format allows it.
- 4. Sample sizes and methodology published beside every result.
- 5. Anyone with a commercial interest in an entry recuses themselves.
First edition
The inaugural awards depend on having enough independent evidence to judge fairly. The fastest way to bring them forward is to file tasting notes and trial reports.