Mad Jam Woman wins double gold
More success for iconic Amble woman in the run up to International Women’s Day.
This year Sandy Higson, aka The Mad Jam Woman, won the most prestigious Double Gold Award at the 2026 Artisan World Marmalade Awards.
đź“· International (Mad Jam) Woman Sandy Higson
The Double Gold was awarded for her Lemon, Lime and Grapefruit Marmalade with Samphire, Chilli, Ginger and Cumin. The marmalade was enjoyed for its originality and flavour, impressing all the judges. Sandy also won two silver awards, two bronze awards and one merit for her other entries.
Sandy said “It is exciting to have won this award against such strong competition from all over the world. We have been making our marmalade for years and it is a great thrill to be recognised among such a strong field.”
She told us it was her goal to achieve this status from the very start of entering the competition.
I asked how she came up with the winning formula. Sandy said “You have to be creative, you cannot enter the same marmalade more than once. It was a very time-consuming experiment. I tried to use ingredients that were readily available.”
Sandy has been making preserves since the mid 1990s when she began her business from a small upstairs flat in Rothbury. Her first ever entry to the Marmalade Awards was in the home-made class, around 2012.
đź“· Sandy featured on James Martin’s show
In recent years she has won many awards for her preserves and has featured on James Martin’s Saturday Morning show.
This year, the Marmalade Awards received over 3400 entries from more than 33 countries.
Beatrice Hasell-McCosh, Director of the Awards said “It is an exciting moment coming to judge the Artisan marmalades every year which are often packed full of innovation and individuality. Every jar is judged completely blind by our panel with many jars being passed around the tables to be judged as a group. All the award winners make it look very easy to achieve something which we as judges know is very hard to do”.
She added, “I know that The Mad Jam Woman will have huge success with her marmalade which was rightly acknowledged as being exceptional.”
The Artisan Gold and Double Gold award winners have the opportunity to take part in a workshop and receive their awards at a Presentation Ceremony on Friday 24 April. Dalemain will stock Gold and Double Gold marmalades in their World Marmalade Shop at Dalemain. They will be available to taste and buy.
Sandy’s marmalade is available from The Fourways, Amble and online, it can also be purchased at Amble’s Seafood Centre, Turnbull’s of Alnwick and various places around Northumberland.
Vivienne Dalgliesh
