Roy Cody scored an 80 for his organic garlic entry – just one mark off a silver award.

Judges found his garlic had “beautiful cloves” with a “nice sheen”.

Mr Cody said he was “very pleased” with the result and he would be angling for silver next year.

The judges – including author of Garlic and edible plant expert Penny Woodward – tasted the 35 garlic entries raw, before roasting them and tasting again, after a palate cleanser of green apple, lemon sorbet and dry white toast.

Not all of the entries were organic, but Mr Cody says his garlic, grown under gumtree mulch, is organic but not formally certified.

“There have been no herbicides or pesticides in this soil for 25 years,” Mr Cody said.

He said garlic had fantastic medicinal qualities and consumers were becoming more dedicated to organic produce, rather than being flooded with cheap garlic that has been bleached and fumigated.

He said there was limited chemical control on food imported from overseas.

“You don’t know what chemical cocktail you could be eating,” he said.

Mr Cody said he put the cloves into anything from morning toast and omelettes to casseroles and lamb’s fry – and though he had heard of “garlic ice cream”, he thought that was “a little extreme”.

He said there was still a mystery surrounding the original source of the garlic, which he plants on top of the soil and covers with mulch, rather than sinking it into heavy clay.

Mr Cody has been growing garlic for the past 25 years, but commercially for only the past five years.

He used to give garlic as gifts to family and friends before designing and building a garlic planter.

The latest haul saw him collect up to three tonnes of the bulbs from only .3 of a hectare.

He said garlic was best stored in a cool, dry spot, as putting it in the fridge could lead the garlic to sprout.

Mr Cody has showcased his award-winning garlic during Taste Tamworth, as well as his regular sales at the Showgrounds and the Peel St markets.