Gourmet-minded fans in the Valley now have one more reason to celebrate Gina Buskirk's dedication to small batch, scratch-made goodies made with premium ingredients: Her shop, Gina's Homemade, has been named a finalist in the 2013 Good Food Awards.
See also: Gina's Homemade Opens Shop in Northeast Scottsdale
Established in San Francisco in 2010 and the first national award program honoring small food companies that meet the criteria for "tasty, authentic, and responsibly produced," the Good Food Awards, now in its third year, features nine categories of food products: beer, chacuterie, cheese, chocolate, confections, coffee, pickles, preserves, and spirits.
Of the nine categories, Gina's ricotta has been selected as one of 14 finalists in the cheese category and will compete with cheeses from states such as Wisconsin, California, and Vermont. Moreover, Gina's Homemade is the only finalist from Arizona.
And if you think that's impressive, wait until you hear how many entries were submitted.
Gina's Homemade was one of 182 Finalists selected by the Good Food judges from a pool of 1,366 entries from 31 states. California, Oregon, New York, and Washington D.C. had the most Finalists this year.
On January 18 of 2013, 100 winners will be announced at a ceremony in San Francisco hosted by Alice Waters, the author of The Art of Simple Food. The next day, winners will showcase their goods at a marketplace event hosted by Good Food at San Francisco's iconic Ferry Building.
To see the complete list of finalist in the 2013 Good Food Awards, go to the organization's website.
