Slovenia hosted the first European Honey Contest at the weekend, featuring 114 contenders from eleven countries. Top places in all but one category went to Slovenian beekeepers.

The event, organised by the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association in cooperation with the Koper regional association of beekeepers, saw a ten-member judging panel select top three honey samples in five categories.

Josip Pintar from Croatia won first place for best acacia honey, followed by Peter Kolar from Slovenia and Balázs Kolics from Hungary.

The top prizes in the other four categories went to Slovenian beekepers. Franc Hočevar took the best flower honey, Čebelarstvo Jelenc the best forest honey, Zvonko Sedmak the best linden honey and Tilen Velkovrh the best chestnut honey award.

The winners of the 1st European Honey Contest. Photo: European Honey Contest Facebook profile/Jan Primožič Zver, Istra Foto

Čebelarstvo Jelenc also won won people's choice for their forest honey. The full list of top three contenders in all categories is available here.

"We cannot compete in quantity, but the quality of Slovenian honey makes us one of the best in the world," Agriculture Minister Mateja Čalušić said at the event in Koper on 7 December.