[G]reat Taste, the world’s most coveted food awards, which celebrates the very best in food and drink, has announced the Great Taste stars of 2018.
Out of over 12,600 products to be judged, If I Knew You Were Coming, from Cumbria was awarded two 2-star Great Taste awards, which means judges dubbed it above and beyond delicious for its Classic Chocolate Brownie baking kit and for its White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookie baking kit. The judges commented that the classic chocolate brownie baking kit would enable even the most novice baker to produce rich chocolate brownies.
Judged by over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers, as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers. As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to a wonderful tasting product, which has been discovered through hours and hours of blind-tasting by hundreds of judges.
Katie Hauser, founder, explains: we have never entered Great Taste before, but decided to enter this year to showcase our favourite products. We are delighted to have received two 2 star awards from Great Taste, and to have had feedback that that our kits are well constructed complete with easy to follow baking guidelines. We have worked hard to perfect our recipes and create user friendly baking kits, so to have confirmation of this is great! These stars have also given us the momentum to be crowned as a Small Business Sunday winner by Theo Paphitis on 5th August.
Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values taste above all else, with no regard for branding and packaging. Whether it is vinegar, granola, bacon or cheese being judged, all products are removed from their wrapper, jar, box or bottle before being tasted. The judges then savour, confer and re-taste to decide which products are worthy of a 1-, 2- or 3-star award.
There were 12,634 entries into Great Taste this year and of those products, 192 have been awarded a 3-star, 1,207 received a 2-star and 3,254 were awarded a 1-star accolade. The panel of judges this year included; MasterChef 2018 champion, Kenny Tutt, chef and food writer, Elly Curshen, eco chef and food writer, Tom Hunt, author and chef, Zoe Adjonyoh, baker Tom Herbert, author and blogger, Izy Hossack, and baker and recipe writer, Martha Collison, as well as food buyers from Harrods, Selfridges and Sourced Market. These esteemed palates have together tasted and re-judged the 3-star winners to finally agree on the Golden Fork Trophy winners and the Great Taste 2018 Supreme Champion.
Great Taste 2018 will reach its exciting finale on Sunday 2 September, when the world of fine food gathers at the InterContinental Park Lane Hotel, London to find out the Great Taste Golden Fork trophy winners for each region, with the final applause reserved for the Great Taste Supreme Champion 2018.
