ENTER THE COMPETITION

The Homemade Competition

This is a competition for the worlds best Homemade marmalade. There are 15 categories ensuring that there is something for every marmalade maker, from the expert home-cook to adventurous first-timer. Entries come from all over the world and the jars are assessed by experienced judges, with well tested assessment criteria.

The best in show will produced and sold at Dalemain and Fortnum & Masons, London, with a donation being made to charity per jar.

Every penny of your entry fee for the home-made awards goes towards supporting Hospice care, both in the UK and around the world and we are very grateful to our sponsors Fortnum & Mason, Rathbones, Westmorland Family and Lycetts who have enabled us to have raised more than £320,000 for charity since we began.  

Please Read Carefully Before Entering:
If you sell your marmalade: If you produce and sell your marmalade commercially you should enter the Artisan Competition not the Homemade Competition. 

The Hotel and B & B Competition: This is now a category within the Homemade Competition. If you sell more than 100 units per year or sell online or in a shop then you should enter into the Artisan Competition.

Collection Points: If you don’t want to post your jar you can deliver them to a collection point from Scotland to New York. A full list of collection points will go live in December and all open at the start of January.

Payment : Please get in touch directly with the office at Dalemain if you have any issue with payment for your entry. The Homemade Competition Entry payment should be made by cheque or bank transfer to ‘The Worlds Original Marmalade Competition’ Contact us via marmalade@dalemain.com or by telephone on +44 (0) 1768486450 if you have any difficulty.

Not sure how to enter? How to list your ingredients? Whether you can deliver your jar by hand? What lid you can use? Scroll down for a comprehensive list of FAQ’s

The Artisan Competition

This is a competition is for people who make their marmalade using the traditional open-pan method and sell their products commercially. We look for all types of marmalade. 

We want to support independent producers and work to enhance the quality of marmalade. Winning an Artisan Award denotes a marmalade of incredibly high quality and past winners have seen huge increases in their sales with a Dalemain roundel on their jar. All Artisan entries are judged by an expert panel of industry experts.

Roundels: Bronze, Silver and Gold roundels will be available to purchase as soon as results are announced.

Production for Fortnum & Mason: Selected winners are sold by Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly. If your marmalade is chosen by Fortnums you will be asked to produce a large number of jars for sale. If you do not feel this is possible or would prefer not to be considered for this please make a note of this on your entry form. 

The Hotel and B & B’s: This is now a category within the Homemade Competition. If you sell more than 100 units per year or sell regularly online or in a shop then you should enter the Artisan Competition. Please note you are only eligible to buy roundels if you win an award in the Artisan Competition.

Payment: The entry fee should be paid via Paypal: @Dalemain “marmalade@dalemain.com” - ensure your name is clear and the paypal receipt is with entry form with your jars.

Other ways to pay: If for any reason you cannot pay by Paypal, you can pay by cheque, cash or by direct bank transfer.

Contact us Email: marmalade@dalemain.com or tel. +44 (0) 1768486450.

Legal definition of marmalade

Everybody has their own version of marmalade. Essentially, the dominant ingredient has to be citrus but to fit in with UK Trading Standards, this is the legal definition per The Jam and Similar Products (England) Regulations 2003.

A mixture, brought to a suitable gelled consistency, of water, sugars and fruit pulp, fruit purée, fruit juice, fruit peel or aqueous extract of fruit or any combination thereof, in every case obtained from citrus fruit, such that the quantity of citrus fruit used for every 1000 grams of the finished product is not less than 200 grams, of which not less than 75 grams is obtained from the endocarp.

Jelly marmalade is a marmalade which contains no insoluble matter except possibly for small quantities of finely sliced peel.

Marmalade may contain the following and still be legally sold under the description “marmalade”:

  • Honey as a total or partial substitute for sugars

  • Essential oils of citrus fruits

  • Spirits, wine and liqueur wine, nuts, aromatic herbs, spices, vanilla and vanilla extract

If your product contains additional ingredients, you should contact your local Trading Standards for assistance with labelling.

For more information, please refer to the Jam and Similar Products Regulations and Food Information Regulations.

 FAQs

  • You need to post your jar to:

    Homemade Awards OR Artisan Awards
    Dalemain Mansion
    Dalemain
    Penrith
    Cumbria
    CA11 0HB

  • Please send it by 5pm on the 3rd February 2025.

  • Go to our Collection Points page for a full list.

  • The Marmalade Festival will take place on Saturday 26th April 2025 at Dalemain Mansion.

  • Yes, you can hand deliver your jars to Dalemain Mansion, from Monday-Thursday, 9am-5pm.

  • Artisan can purchase roundels to use on their jars for three years. The order form will be distributed to winners once the results are announced. These are a marketing tool to aid small businesses therefore homemade entrants do not qualify to purchase them and do not need them.

  • Yes, you can enter the same marmalade in different categories. Please send one jar per number of categories you would like to enter.

  • Yes, of course! You can collect your jar from Dalemain on the day of the festival and in the following week until the friday after the festival. Unfortunately, we are not able to post your jars back to you.

  • Many jars are collected by their maker from Dalemain - either at the Marmalade Festival or in the week following until the Friday after the festival. As many of the remaining jars possible after this time are donated to the community, the local charities, rugby club, rotary club and a number of churches, which in turn raises more money for Hospice at Home.

  • Find the entry forms here. If the download link doesn’t work, we can also email you one.

  • Homemade

    The category winners and Best in Show will be informed in February. All results will then be posted following the Festival. Due to the large number of entries and postal delays, you may not receive your results until mid-May.

    Artisan and Hotel, B&B and Restaurant

    All Gold and Double Gold winners will be informed in February, all other entries will receive their results via email in March. Certificates will be posted after that.

  • Your jar should be large enough that multiple judges can taste your preserve but it does not need to be large. We recommend using a standard to small jar size which also will make your postage costs lower.

  • Yes, you can send a jar in with a patterned lid, as long as there are no logos or branding your jar will be entered into the competition. Make sure to wash the jar thoroughly before reusing it for your marmalade! If you are an Artisan maker be sure that one of your jars has no identifying labels or logos so it can be judged blind.

  • As this is a competition raising money for charity ran by volunteers processing thousands of jars, we are unable to email every entrant to confirm their jar has arrived. You will receive a notification if your jar has arrived damaged so that you can submit a replacement if you have one. If you would like to be sure your parcel has arrived at Dalemain be sure to ask for your parcel to be tracked when you take it to the post.

  • Yes, we you are very welcome to send your donation to a local hospice instead, please print their name and address on the bottom of the entry form and send proof of this donation in lieu of payment.

  • It is a £10.00 entry fee per jar with the entire entry fee going to charity.

  • There is no limit to the number of jars you enter. Please remember to enclose the correct entry fee, select the appropriate categories on the entry form and label your jars as described in the terms and conditions.

  • You should enter this category under the name of the Prison or organisation within the Justice system. We encourage groups to cook together to make their entry!

  • Our email is marmalade@dalemain.com or by telephone on 01768486450

  • You just need to list your ingredients so that our judges know what is in your jar e.g. Lemons, Seville Oranges, Sugar, Water