PENRITH'S Lizzie Smith has won yet another glittering accolade for her fabulous Frutta Cotta range.

The Mostarda', a voluptuous Italian condiment of fruit preserved in syrup which gains a kick from the addition of mustard, won the North West Fine Food Best New Product 2007.

The honours - which saw a cache of awards for Cumbria - were announced at a gala dinner held at Manchester's Lowry Hotel.

The Port of Lancaster Smokehouse, at Glasson Dock, scooped the most prestigious accolade - NW Producer of the Year - with its naturally smoked boneless kipper, which also won the fish and seafood category in the competition to qualify for a shot at the overall title.

And just pipped at the post for the NW producer of the year' honour, local food hero Andrew Farmer' Sharp, from Lindal, in Furness, won the Best Cured or Cooked Meat sub category with his three-month air dried Herdwick mutton, and then went on to win the coveted producer of the year accolade for Cumbria.

Described as "beautiful, mature and with a strong flavour" by judges, Farmer Sharp's Galloway Beef Bresaola also came in for high praise in the competition.

Meanwhile, Munx Lakeland Bakery - formerly Pain de Paris - at Staveley, also won the best bakery and confectionery product' with its Cumbrian honey bread with figs. Described by the judges as "very, very good", the bread beat off competition from a feast of cakes, puddings and sweet pastries to take the top honour.

This year's NW Fine Food Awards saw a record number of entries, with more than 500 submissions, which were judged by a panel of experts.