About
The Good Food Awards rely on the expertise of the elixirs 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 elixirs standard are and who will be judging this year.
Committee
Co-ChairsJen Flaxman
Bio coming soon!
Sophie Fleming
This is Sophie’s 6th year with the GFA and Elixirs! She has been in the SF hospitality scene for 11 years working primarily with the Flour + Water Hospitality Group. She has done everything from bartending, serving, hosting and managing. Most recently she has been peddling delicious wines to her favorite restaurants around the city for the Revel Wine portoflio. You can catch her daily in Golden Gate Park with her pup/best friend, Penny.
2024 Judges
Kelly Eaton
Katherine Harris
Brand Marketing Manager, Afresh
Charlie Berkinshaw
VP of Product, Food Biz Wiz
Chantelle Bourdeaux
Bay Area Sales Manager, Sylvester/Rovine Selections
Mason Hayes
Architect, Hayes Group Architects
Mary Dollinger
Executive Assistant, Palace Market
Eder Munguia
Market Merchandising Manager, Bi-Rite Market
Annette White
Owner, Sugo Trattoria
Rachel Malm
Product Specialist, Bitters & Bottles
Darin Sexton
Owner, Sutter Creek Provisions
Standards
In order to be eligible for a Good Food Award, elixirs entries must meet the following standards:
- Made in the USA or US Territories.
- Utilize ingredients that are grown and sourced responsibly, with awareness of origin, seasonality, trade and labor practices.
- Free of genetically modified ingredients (including GM beet sugar, vinegar derived from GM corn and alcohol derived from GM grain or sugar).
- Free of high fructose corn syrup. Sweeteners must be organic or Fair Trade certified.*
- Free of artificial ingredients, including colors, flavors and preservatives.**
- If made with fruits and vegetables, they are grown without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers. Where a grain is the primary ingredient there is a strong effort made to use ingredients free of these inputs wherever possible.***
- All spices and herbs must be certified organic, Fair Trade or traceable to the farm level and grown without the use of synthetic inputs.****
- Made by a crafter that is an upstanding member of the good food community, committed to equity and inclusion in all levels of their business,***** as exemplified through integrating these practices:
- Creating a safe and healthy work environment where employees receive a fair wage, are safe and respected at work and have access to the resources they need to keep themselves healthy.
- Offering a diversity, equity, and inclusion training to staff members and/or leadership annually.
- Thoughtfully acknowledging the heritage of culturally-specific food on websites, packaging and/or marketing materials.
- For the small percentage of Good Food community that operates on a significantly larger scale, meeting additional criteria related to board diversity, maternity leave and employment practices.*****
* Honey does not require organic certification, but must meet the criteria established for the Good Food Awards honey category.
** Citric acid will be accepted for some extracts.
*** IPM practices will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
****If less than 2% of ingredients in the product do not meet this stipulation, the entry will not be disqualified.
*****Check if you are in the 2% of companies meeting the Good Food Foundation definition of large scale, and review the addition criteria on the Rules & Regulations page.
Subcategories
Additionally, elixirs entries must fit within one of the following subcategories:
- Bitters
- Syrups
- Shrubs and Drinking Vinegars
- Concentrates
- Flavor Extracts
- Tinctures
- Ginger Beers, Tonics and Mixers
- CBD & Adaptogen Mixers