(Portland, ME – October 24, 2024) The winners of the Maine Golden Fork Awards were announced live at today’s Maine Food Producer Showcase hosted by the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs (MCE) and Focus Maine at Brick South, Thompson’s Point.
“With over 500 registrants, this year’s B2B Food Producer Showcase is approx. 60% larger than our last event, and one of the largest B2B food producer events in the state,” explains Naomi Neville, Manager of Maine Center for Entrepreneur’s Food Accelerators. “We are delighted by the growth and the regional enthusiasm from grocery buyers, distributors, and restaurants for our premium Maine food products.” This year’s event showcased 55 of Maine’s emerging food and beverage companies that participate in MCE Food Accelerators and Food Tech program. It also had a large number (21) of Maine seafood and aquaculture companies participating, with a strong showing of Maine’s iconic lobster, scallops, oyster, mussel, and finfish suppliers, and value- added seaweed and seafood producers.
Twenty-eight of the 55 companies participating in the Showcase entered products into one of 3 Award categories: Retail Best in Show, Foodservice Best in Show and Best New Product. Product entries represented a variety of food categories, from grains & produce, proteins & sides, condiments & spices, sauces, snacks & sweets, to beverages and products produced throughout the state of Maine. This year’s Maine Golden Fork Award judging took place at the Southern Maine Community College’s Culinary Arts Center. Winners were chosen in a blind tasting by a panel of food industry judges which included chefs, retail buyers, and industry experts. Judging was based on exceptional taste, texture, and quality.
The 2024 Maine Golden Fork Award Winners are:
| Retail Best in Show | Salty Toffee Ice Cream by Parlor Ice Cream | Biddeford, Maine |
| Foodservice Best in Show | Maine Seared Scallops by Fishermen’s Net | Brunswick, Maine |
| Best New Product | Peanut Butter Coconola by Grandy Organics | Hiram, Maine |
The awards and Maine Food Producer Showcase are part of a partnership between MCE and FocusMaine to accelerate the creation of jobs and growth in revenue in Maine’s food economy. “Congratulations to the Golden Fork Award winners and all our innovative Maine food producers,” comments Andrea C. Maker, President of FocusMaine. “We are an enthusiastic supporter of this event and this important growth sector!” According to a recent FocusMaine report, the Maine food sector grew 3% more jobs last year than the 1% Maine multi- sector average, and 6% in companies participating in FocusMaine programs. In fact, one in 6 new food sector jobs were created in companies participating in FocusMaine programs.
About MCE’s Food Accelerator and FoodTech Programs: MCE’s Food Accelerator programs were launched in 2018 (Cultivator) and 2019 (MarketShare) in an effort to help established food and beverage companies take their business to the next level of scale up and market expansion. MCE also runs the FoodTech Maine business accelerator focused on leveraging technology solutions to improve efficiency, sustainability and quality in the food industry. Over the last seven years, MCE has worked with over 140 food companies through their Food Accelerator, Maine FoodTech, and Top Gun Programs. MCE’s food programs are the first of their kind in Maine and are rather unique in the U.S. Find more info HERE.
FocusMaine is a founding partner of the MCE’s Food Accelerators and Maine FoodTech programs with a mission to accelerate the growth of existing companies, foster job creation and support the development of key industry sectors for overall economic impact. See more about FocusMaine’s primary development areas and activities HERE.
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Award Photo Attached (left to right): Quang Nguyen of Fishermen’s Net, Aaron Anker and Rich Raymond of Grandy Organics, Jacqueline Dole of Parlor Ice Cream
Photo Credit: David Dostie
About MCE:
Established in 1997, MCE’s mission is to build and lead a community of growth-oriented businesses in Maine, by providing the training, connections, coaching and mentors they need to commercialize and grow their ideas, products and services so that their companies will drive the growth of Maine’s economy. Over its 25-year history, the organization has accelerated the growth of hundreds of businesses, and established a mentor network of over 200 members.