The Competition and Festival has been running for 18 years at Dalemain Mansion, Pooley Bridge, Penrith, Cumbria. It has raised £270,000 for Hospice at Home in this time.
The 2023 Marmalade Festival will be on Saturday 22nd of April
It is an international festival with entries to the competition coming from all over the world. In fact, it has proved so amazingly popular in a number of countries that daughter festivals have been launched and they now run annually in Australia, Japan and Korea.
In fact, the Japanese are so keen that Jane Hasell-McCosh, the family member from Dalemain who started the festival, was invited to Japan to open the Festival and a Japanese postage stamp was issued in honour of Dalemain and the festival. Many Japanese and Koreans come to this country to visit the festival.
One of the joys of the Dalemain World Marmalade Awards has always been welcoming entries from all around the world. We love celebrating the growing global communities of marmalade makers, and being introduced to new types of citrus fruits. Over the past few years, Dalemain has supported the development of other Awards across the world.
The Senegalese Marmalade Celebration,
Senegal
In 2020 we welcomed an incredibly exciting addition to the marmalade family, with the launch of the first ever Senegalese marmalade celebrations.
In January 2020, a number of Women’s Co-operatives across Senegal took part in the Dalemain World Marmalade Awards, sending their marmalade to Dalemain to be judged by our expert panel. These Co-operatives hope to sell and export their products, made using local ingredients, and were excited to receive feedback.
To celebrate these entries a small festival was held in Ziguinchor, in the Casamance area of Senegal. With speeches, music, dancing and – of course – marmalade tasting, it was the perfect send off for these precious pots.
These Women’s Co-operatives have been assisted in their marmalade making ambitions by Georgina Regàs, who is herself an Award-winning producer from Barcelona, Spain. Georgina visited Senegal in 2010 and was in high demand from interested parties in Dakar and Sanghe for assistance in their jam production.
In 2015 she met Mamadou Saliou, of Diandé Africa and joined their experience and vital force to develop a project that gives work to women in the Casamance region in order to finance the education of their sons and daughters. She assisted in the founding of a number of Women’s Co-operatives in Senegal, with the aim of producing and selling high-quality local products.
The Dalemain Australian Festival of Marmalade,
Adelaide, Australia
Jane Hasell-McCosh has always felt a strong connection to Australia, and hopes to use the Awards to champion the Australian citrus industry. The family have ties to Australia through Martindale Hall, which was built in Australia in the 1800’s by the descendant of a Steward of Dalemain in a failed attempt to win the heart of Frances Hasell, daughter of the house. She never wanted to leave Dalemain and so he built Martindale Hall in its likeness but by the time he was able to return, she was too old and it was too late. Today, while fighting to keep this house in the hands of the Australian people, Jane gained close connections with the Australian National Trust, and the idea of developing a second Marmalade festival ‘down under’, to champion Australian heritage, was born.
The Australians have a Marmy Army who love marmalade and each year the town of Buninyong collects marmalade from all over Australia to enter in the ‘Marmal-Ashes’, an Australian cricket team of marmalade sent to challenge the English, who send up their finest team in response. The winning ‘Marmal-Ashes’ Trophy is kept safely behind lock and key in Buninyong court house, where Jane visited it in 2010. The Australian Marmalade Festival will develop and strengthen these ties, whilst introducing more Australians to the love of marmalade and helping to raise money and awareness for the South Australian National Trust and End of Life Care.
The Japanese Marmalade Festival,
Yawatahama, Japan
The Dalemain World Marmalade Awards in Japan take place every year in Yawatahama, Ehime, in partnership with Dalemain. As the love of marmalade spreads around the world, the popularity of this competition has grown. Last year, the Dalemain Japanese Marmalade Awards received over 1,400 homemade entries, and hundreds of artisan jars, with combinations of fruit that make the Japanese awards unique
The iconic English grocer Fortnum & Mason, sponsors of the Awards in Japan, will be co-branding the winner with Dalemain and it will be sold in their stores in both the UK and Japan, as well as by us.
Yawatahama City is located in western Shikoku, which is an island in the southwest of Japan, approximately 4-5 hours from Tokyo by plane and train. Yawatahama is one of the leading citrus producing areas in Japan, with more than 40 varieties of citruses.
MARMALADE COMPETITION CATEGORIES
1a. Clear Seville Marmalade, a clear jelly with or without peel
1b. Whole Seville Marmalade, containing all pulp & peel but no pips
2a. Any Citrus Marmalade, any citrus with Seville
2b. Any Citrus Marmalade, any citrus excluding Seville
3. Children’s Marmalade
4. Rathbones’ First Timer’s Marmalade
5. Dark & Chunky Marmalade
6. Man Made Marmalade
7. Rathbones’ Generations Together Marmalade
8. Gardener’s Marmalade (with garden ingredients)
9. Merry Marmalade (with alcohol)
10. Octogenarians & Upwards Marmalade
11. Campanologist’s Marmalade (for bell-ringers)
12. Lycetts Marmalade MacNab (to be served with savoury food)
13. Taste of Honey Marmalade
14. Tea Time Marmalade
15. Marmalade for the King
