The Great Taste Awards is the most trusted and recognised food and drink awards. Each food entered receives feedback from our panel of over 350 judges, helping you improve and refine your food even if it is not awarded a coveted star.
07/05 - Many delivery instructions have now been issued and we continue to issue via the Producer Area on a weekly basis.Please ensure that you check regularly on the site - this is where you can download all your instructions.
Please avoid phoning the office unless you have to.
16/04 - delivery instructions are now available to download from the producers area of our Great Taste sitefor producers in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The remainder of producers delivery instructions will be available in batches during May and June. You will be notified by email when they are online.
02/04 - we are currently inputting entries. Irish delivery instructions will be available on Monday 8 April ahead of judging 23/24/25 April. We will then be allocating delivery weeks to all other entrants. DO NOT SEND PRODUCTS NOW.
This year you will be able to see the status of your entry and download your delivery instructions from the 'Notifications' section of the Great Taste entry website - even if you enter on paper. This means you will be able to see where we are in the judging process and when you can expect to have your products judged.
Great Taste 2013 Timetable
04 February
Open for entry
06 February
Online entry opens
01 March
Early bird finishes
22 March
Deadline for all entries
22 April
Dublin judging week
03 June
London judging week
06 May-28 June
Judging in GFF new judging facility, Gillingham, Dorset
13-14 May
Tea judging
22-23 May
Coffee (filter) judging
13 June
Olive oil judging, Fortnum & Mason
24 May
Bottled beer judging
10 July
Finals judging (all 3-star products)
August
Star-ratings announced
08 September
Top 50 officially announced at Speciality and Fine Food Fair
09 September
Golden Fork trophies announced at presentation dinner, Royal Garden Hotel, London
Northern Ireland triumphs again as Hannan Meats tops Great Taste 2012
Northern Ireland has produced its second Great Taste Supreme Champion in as many years after an Italian-style dry-cured pigs’ cheek from Country Antrim took top slot in the 2012 awards.
Moyallon Guanciale is made by Hannan Meats, which is based in Moira, near Craigavon, and is a near neighbour of last year’s Supreme Champion winner, McCartney’s of Moira.
Hannan’s triumph was announced at the Great Taste awards dinner at London’s Royal Garden Hotel on Monday evening, where the trophy was presented to MD Peter Hannan by Simon Burdess of sponsor Fortnum & Mason.
Hannan developed its bacon-style guanciale, a spicier but softer-textured alternative to pancetta, after requests from Italian restaurant clients. The delicacy is becoming hard to find even in its heartland of Lazio and Umbria, and Hannan is believed to be the only UK producer.
“This is simply an exquisite example of a product that has its roots in Italy but has been made brilliantly in Great Britain,” said Bob Farrand, chairman of the Guild of Fine Food.
Other major winners announced on Monday included Simple Simon Perfect Pies, based in Lanarkshire, named Speciality Producer of the Year for its consistently strong performance in the awards over a number of years.
Paul Kelly of Kelly Turkeys received a new Great Taste VIP Award sponsored by consumer magazine Woman & Home.
The Guild of Fine Food’s Lifetime Achievement Award went to Nigel Cope, founder and chairman of Cottage Delight.
The evening also saw Delilah Fine Foods of Nottingham, run by Sangita Tryner, named 2012 Deli of the Year in the annual competition run by Olives Et Al and supported by the Guild.
Great Taste 2012 was judged during 45 days of blind-tasting by a panel that included Masterchef winner and restaurateur Mat Follas, restaurant critic and Masterchef judge Charles Campion, food writers Lucas Hollweg and Xanthe Clay and more than 300 food buyers from leading food halls, such as Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason, as well as delicatessens and farm shops across the country.
From beers to brownies, 8,807 different products were entered, with 2,670 awarded one- and two-star golds and just 123 receiving the coveted three-star gold.
Watch the Great Taste 2012 video
What happened in 2011?
About Great Taste
Over 30 million consumers read about gold-star winning food and drink in newspapers and magazines and tens of thousands got to taste them at food exhibitions throughout the country. Many also meet producers at GREAT TASTE MARKETS at BBC MASTERCHEF LIVE, SPIRIT SHOWS and RHS HAMPTON COURT AND TATTON PARK and thousands buy from shops, food halls, markets and farmers' markets.
Coveted black & gold-star GREAT TASTE labels adorn thousands of speciality foods stocked on shelves and counters in stores throughout the UK and more recently, even as part of a television commercial.
Of all the UK’s food award schemes, GREAT TASTE is the most important. Completely independent and uncompromisingly rigorous, it is trusted by retailers, buyers and consumers. GREAT TASTE is to speciality food and drink what MICHELIN is to fine dining.
Rigorous Judging
In 2012, over 8800 products were judged over an intense four-month period. The Awards’ organiser, the Guild of Fine Food constantly refines the judging mechanics and this year was no exception. Before gold is awarded, a minimum of twelve experts, often 20 taste, discuss and agree. For two- or three-stars, up to 25 judges must unanimously agree an entry has achieved absolute perfection. Over 350 experts including key buyers, retailers, chefs and food writers blind tasted entries to ensure they are fairly and independently assessed. Every entry starts with 25 points and marks are deducted when faults are identified and constructive feedback offers suggestions to the producers how entries could be improved.
Constructive feedback
This year, before any food is refused the gold standard, nine experts must agree it has faults. Professional food writers sit at each tasting table directly inputting comments onto the Awards’ database. These can now been accessed by all producers who entered using their unique log-on and password.
Largest ever consumer audience
Whatever you win in the Great Taste Awards, the potential for publicity and additional sales far exceeds the cost of entry. Once all the awards are announced and all regional and national winners have been presented with their trophies at the glittering Awards night at Fortnum & Mason on September 3rd, the most extensive promotional campaign in support of Great Taste Award winning foods will kick off.
This year saw us identify the Top 50 foods in Britain - all the products nominated for the major awards. You can read more here.
Throughout the coming year, national newspapers, glossy monthlies, radio and television are provided with a constant stream of award winning foods to taste, evaluate and discuss.
Taste Gold, the Guild of Fine Food’s annual guide to award winning foods will promote your product celebrity chef theatres at more than 80 food exhibitions and festivals around the country. There’s even the opportunity to get your foods used as ingredients during these presentations.
More Taste Gold theatres at major shows will direct more consumers to stores where the now familiar black and gold stickers signify a food or drink really has been independently proven to be the finest.
Major Winners
For more on the 2012 results visit:
Listen to Nigel Barden talking
Great Taste on Radio 2
Want to speak to our PR?
Contact Tortie Farrand
Want to enter in 2014? Contact Charlie Westcar to ensure you
are on our database
Northern Ireland triumphs again as Hannan Meats tops Great Taste 2012
