Scoring

What we measure

Each producer's ranking is built from their award recognition across the UK's leading food and drink competitions. We look at what they've won, where they've won it, and how consistently they've been recognised over time.

Not all awards are equal

We weight recognition by the standing of each award body — its independence, rigour, and reputation in the industry. A win at a nationally recognised competition carries more weight than a local or regional show.

Level of recognition matters

Within each competition, we distinguish between levels — a supreme champion carries more weight than a bronze, and a gold more than a commendation. Grand prizes and champion-of-champions titles are weighted highest of all.

Recency and consistency

We factor in how recent each award is and how consistently a producer has been recognised across multiple bodies and years. Breadth of recognition across different competitions is a stronger signal than depth in a single one.

The four tiers

Producers are placed into four tiers based on their overall score relative to the full dataset.

• Exceptional The most consistently and widely recognised producers in the UK
• Outstanding Strong, repeated recognition across multiple award bodies
• Acclaimed Solid award recognition from respected competitions
• Recognised Award-winning producers building their track record

No pay-to-play

Velouté rankings are based entirely on independent award recognition. Producers cannot pay to improve their ranking or appear in our directory. We don't accept sponsored placements or paid listings.