Bevington Salads hosted a tasting session for Good Food magazine this morning – as six strawberry ‘sommeliers’ judged six different berries on six characteristics.

It was a blind tasting, so none of the judges was aware of the provenance of each seasonal strawberry they tasted until after the event. The six categories were appearance, taste/flavour, aroma, sweetness and finish, and each judge gave each berry a score out of 60.

The judges were: Cheryl Cohen – Queen of Markets; Sarah Mooney - Sauce of Love; Lina Saad -  TV chef and author; Alice Shields – Good Food; Paul Murphy - Yes Chef; and Gary Marshall, Bevington Salads.

The varieties were: Florice, from Agri Fruit, Somerset; Malling Ace, from Hugh Lowe Farms, Kent; Malling Allure from FruitWay Farm, Oxford, Sonsation, from Hoogstraten, Belgium; Malling Centenary, from 5. Mockbeggar Farm, Kent; and Christine, from Tolhurst Organic Farm, Pangbourne

As the session was being held to support an article Cheryl is writing for Good Food, we’re not at liberty to tell you which of the samples won – suffice to say that, thanks to Gary, the judges all went away enthused and more knowledgeable about strawberries than when they arrived – and Sarah got the ingredient she needed to finish off the pavlova she baked yesterday!