About
The Good Food Awards rely on the expertise of the confections community to create the tasting, determine judges and set standards for the category. Read on to learn who has been integral to building the category, as well as what the confections standard are and who will be judging this year.
Committee
Co-ChairsLeah Hammerman
Culinary Liaison at Dandelion Chocolate – San Francisco, CA
Leah Hammerman is the Culinary Liaison at Dandelion Chocolate, where she shares her enthusiasm about single-origin chocolate with all types of food & beverage professionals. Prior to discovering the dynamic world of chocolate, Leah lived in New York, where she was on the marketing team at StarChefs and was a restaurant manager with AvroKO Hospitality Group. Leah’s deep love for all things food began at a young age, when she cooked weekly Shabbat dinners alongside her mom. She now pines for a non-SF or NY kitchen to keep up the tradition.
Christina Skonberg
Snr Sustainability Analyst at Annie’s Organic – Berkeley, CA
Christina is a Senior Sustainability Analyst at General Mills, where she leads the sustainable ingredient sourcing strategy for the Annie’s brand. Focusing on metrics related to soil health, biodiversity, and farmer economic resilience, Christina leverages quantitative analysis and research to drive continuous improvement in agricultural outcomes. Prior to joining General Mills, Christina worked with the Good Food Foundation and SCS Global Services, where she coordinated the Starbucks responsible coffee sourcing verification program in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
Carly Grob, Senior Planner, San Francisco Planning Department
Brittany Howlett, Director of Menu Logistics & Implementation, Sun Basket
Nancy Kajiyama, Pastry Chef, Miette Cakes
Ryan Rodrigues, Assistant Store Manager, The Market on Market
Alix Wall, Founder and Food Writer, Illuminoshi Group
Standards
In order to be eligible for a Good Food Award, confections entries must meet the following standards:
- Made in the USA or US territories.
- Free of artificial ingredients, including colors, flavors and preservatives.
- Free of genetically modified ingredients.
- Free of high fructose corn syrup.
- If made with chocolate, it must be premium couverture and may not be made with substitute fats as alternatives to cocoa butter. Additionally this chocolate cannot be made with GM sugar, GM lecithin or alternatives to real vanilla (ie flavoring).
- If made with dairy and other animal-derived ingredients, these are locally sourced and/or certified organic; free range; hormone-free; and from animals raised using good animal husbandry.*
- If made with inclusions and flavorings that are grown domestically, they are locally sourced wherever possible; traceable; and grown without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers.**
- If made with inclusions and flavorings that are not grown domestically on a commercial scale, they are farm-direct, certified organic or Fair Trade certified.**
- Made by a crafter that is an upstanding member of the good food community, oriented toward growing their business in harmony with a better food system.
*The Good Food Foundation will refer to GAP Level 5 guidelines to define “good animal husbandry” should there be any questions as to eligibility based on this criterion.
** If less than 2% of ingredients in the product do not meet this stipulation, the entry will not be disqualified.
Subcategories
Additionally, confections entries must fit within one of the following subcategories:
- Marshmallows, Nougats, Torrones
- Caramels, wrapped
- Caramels, chocolate covered
- Brittles & Toffees
- Chocolates: Truffles, Creams, Bon-bons, Pralines
- Fruit: Pate De Fruit, Candied Fruit and Peel, Fruit Gelee
- Sweet Snacks: Dragees
- Candy Bars
- Flavored & Inclusion Bars*
- Sauces & Spreads
*Bean-to-bar makers may enter flavored or inclusion bars in their choice of the Chocolate or Confections category.
Couverture
Note that we encourage but do not require that Confections entrants use domestically produced craft chocolate that is made with beans from a traceable source, purchased at a price above Fair Trade standard pricing, with focus on sustainable farming.
Past Judges
Annie Callan
Pastry Chef, Zuni Cafe
Omar Mammoon
Bilal Mannaa
Owner, Foodhall
Karen Cogan
Flavor Manager, Dandelion Chocolate
Regine Desrochees
Senior Food Program Manager , Airbnb
Josh Gaulin
Executive Pastry Chef, Michael Mina Restaurant
Tyler Malek
CIO, Salt & Straw
Antonio Massimo
Founder/Chief Taster, Coletta Gelato
Alice Medrich
Cookbook Author and Pastry Chef
Nick Muncy
Writer/ Pastry Chef, Toothache Magazine
Christian Sullberg
Chef and Co-Owner, Moustache Baked Goods
Angela Pinkerton
Chef & Partner, Theorita
Holly McDell
Owner, The Epicurean Trader
Mary Rocca
Proprietor, Palace Market & Rocca Family Vineyards
Melissa Santos
Owner/Chocolatier, Cadence Chocolates
Gloria Tai
Sourcing Manager - Food Development, Williams-Sonoma
Alexander Terrazas
Pastry Chef, Jane the Bakery
Michelle Ticknor
Sales, Heath Ceramics