MORRISONS has picked up two awards at the annual BBC Good Food Christmas Supermarket Taste Test Awards, as anticipation for the Christmas period builds.

BBC Good Food has announced this year’s winners of the prestigious awards, pitting UK supermarkets’ best festive dishes against each other in blind taste tests across 23 categories.

The expert panel blind tasted more than 175 products across 13 supermarkets, with Bradford-based supermarket chain Morrisons coming out on top in two categories.

In the Best Vegan Dessert category, Morrisons’ The Best vegan Sicilian lemon & raspberry semifreddo, which will cost you £5 was declared joint winner with Tesco’s Wicked Kitchen Belgian chocolate and salted caramel log, also a fiver.

On Morrisons’ semifreddo, the judges said: “This refreshingly light dessert is sweet, with a good level of sherbet tang, bitterness and nostalgic ice lolly notes.”

Morrisons also won the Best Panettone award; the £7 Morrisons The Best panettone being crowned by the judges.

On the festive delicacy, they said: “With an appealingly shiny crust and rich golden colour, this classic brioche-style panettone is filled with good-sized pieces of fruit and is not too sweet.

“Vanilla and citrus notes come through, with just a hint of booze to finish.”

In the top awards there were some surprising results, along with some more predictable winners.

Marks & Spencer’s ‘Perfect Turkey Joint’ was named Best Turkey Centrepiece, Asda’s Extra Specials won the Best Pigs in Blankets prize and its fully iced fruit cake won Best Christmas Cake, while M&S and Waitrose shared the Best Christmas Pudding award.

The shock winner came in arguably the most hotly contested category at the awards, Best Mince Pies, which was awarded to Spar for its £2 luxury mince pies

Christine Hayes, BBC Good Food Editor in Chief, said: “There is so much anticipation for Christmas this year, and we know that people are keen to plan ahead for long-awaited get-togethers.

“Our team of BBC Good Food expert tasters started their rigorous, impartial testing in August to create this guide to the best the supermarkets have to offer - we hope it helps ensure everyone’s “Christmas at ours” is as memorable and celebratory as it can be.”

Full list of winners

Best smoked salmon - Sainbury’s Taste the Difference bucks fizz smoked salmon, £4.45 (200g)

Best fish centrepiece - M&S Collection lobster en croute, £35 (855g)

Best hot canapé - Co-op Irresistible sea salt & chardonnay fish rosti stacker, £5 (303g)

Best cold canapé - Co-op Irresistible salmon mousse pots, £5 (150g)

Best turkey centrepiece - M&S The Perfect Turkey Joint, £45 (2kg)

Best beef wellington - Waitrose Entertaining beef wellington, £60 (1.42kg)

Best alternative Christmas main - Sainbury’s Taste the Difference outdoor-bred British pork rib roast, £10.50 (1.45kg)

Best gammon – Lidl Deluxe mulled wine gammon joint, (1.2kg)

Best pigs in blankets – Asda Extra Special 10 pigs in blankets, £2.25 (210g)

Best cranberry sauce – Waitrose cranberry sauce, £2.25 (300g)

Best gravy - M&S Collection turkey gravy, £4 (500g)

Best vegetarian main - Waitrose mushroom, cavolo nero and mascarpone parcels, £6.99 (300g)

Best vegan main - Lidl Deluxe showstopper garland, (500g)

Best Christmas cake - Asda Extra Special fully iced fruit cake, £9 (907g)

Best yule log - Booths festive yule cake, £20 (1.75kg)

Best Christmas pudding (joint winners) - M&S Collection 12-month matured Christmas pudding, £12 (907g) and Waitrose No.1 Christmas pudding, 12-month matured, £12 (800g)

Best sharing desserts (joint winners) - Heston from Waitrose The Giant Cracking Penny, £20 (700g) and Iceland Luxury chocolate & peanut bar, £6 (600g)

Best vegan desserts (joint winners) - Tesco Wicked Kitchen Belgian chocolate and salted caramel log, £5 (570g) and Morrisons The Best vegan Sicilian lemon & raspberry semifreddo, £5 (450g)

Best classic mince pies - Spar luxury mince pies, £2 (330g)

Best flavoured mince pies - Waitrose cherry & almond frangipane topped mince pies, £2 (pack of four)

Best gluten-free mince pies - M&S made without wheat mince pies, £2 (205g)

Best stollen - M&S Collection stollen loaf, £8 (630g)

Best panettone - Morrisons The Best panettone, £7 (750g)