ORGANISERS of the 2021 Marmalade Awards are enjoying the sweet taste of success with record entries pouring in from all over the globe.

Well over 3,000 jars have been sent to Dalemain from more than 30 countries including Kuwait, Honduras, Brazil, Australia, the Channel Islands and Zambia.

The organisers hope The World’s Original Marmalade Awards will be a boost for the hospitality industry in Cumbria.

Awards founder Jane Hasell-McCosh says: “We hope that the awards taking place this year will give Cumbrians a boost as well as a sense of normality during a turbulent period.

“Since announcing the awards would return in 2021, we have had such a fantastic reaction from all over the world.

"The global marmalade making community really is phenomenal. People are thrilled to be able to participate in something creative after what has been such a difficult year.”

She added: “When I started the competition in 2005, I never would have thought it could grow in this extraordinary fashion. The fact that thousands of people sent in their jars despite the challenges of coronavirus means so much to us. We cannot wait to begin the judging, and find our winner!”

Coronavirus lockdowns have led to a renewed interest in marmalade making, not just for celebrities like Elizabeth Hurley, but across the UK.

Entrants have included messages and notes, and one Japanese marmalade maker even sent a jar with heart-shaped peel inside, and the wish that ‘marmalade will connect everyone’s hearts.’

Organisers have also been delighted to unwrap marmalade with knitted woolly hats, hand drawn labels and even, in one case, its own horse and carriage!

The Rathbones First Timers category has also seen record entries with staff from across Rathbones’ Kendal offices joining in the fun and making marmalade with their families.

Richard Dawson, regional director of Rathbone Investment Management’s Kendal office said: "We are delighted to sponsor this year’s Marmalade Awards, supporting local and world-wide charities.

"Making marmalade for the first time has united staff across our 15 offices and sparked plenty of competitive spirit. We look forward to the judging."

The results will be announced on June 20 at Dalemain, as part of the annual Plant Fair.

The winning home-made marmalade recipe will be replicated by award-winning producers Thursday Cottage and sold at Dalemain and Fortnum & Mason’s, in their famous Piccadilly store.

All proceeds from the Homemade Awards go to support Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland, as well as other palliative care charities worldwide.

In 2019, the marmalade awards raised £23,282.30 for the hospice, making the total so far £150,000.

The World’s Original Marmalade Awards were founded in 2005 to help to preserve, grow and widen one of the most British of customs – marmalade making.

From small beginnings they have grown into an internationally renowned and highly acclaimed event, with support from leading companies such as Fortnum & Mason, The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers and Paddington Bear. The awards have inspired people from all over the world to get involved.

In 2020 over 3,000 jars of marmalade were sent from countries as far away as South Korea, Botswana, Japan, Australia and the Philippines.

At the heart of the awards and festival is Dalemain Mansion, a Georgian stately home lived in by the same family for over 300 years and the holder of a rich archive of early marmalade recipes.