Wales delivers record crop of award winning food and drink

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Judged in Wales for the first time this year by a whole host of experts, including Xanthe Clay, Charles Campion and many other chefs, buyers, restaurateurs and writers, the panel unanimously agreed that the following ten products in Wales delivered that indescribable ‘wow factor’ and with it the chance of becoming the Great Taste Supreme Champion 2015.

Of the 10,000 Great Taste international entries, only 130 have been awarded Great Taste 3-star.
The 3-star winners from Wales were:

• Vilberie Medium Dry Cider by Apple County Cider Company
• Haggis by A.J. Pugh Butchers
• Honey Marmalade by Coles Family Brewers
• L’Antico Nero 36 month cured ham by Districts of Italy
• Crystallised Edible Flower by Eat My Flowers
• Mascarpone & Caramelized Fig Ice Cream by Forte’s Ice Cream
• Shirgar Welsh Salted Butter by Gower View Foods Ltd
• Mrs O’s Carrot Cake by Mrs O’s Kitchen & Pop-up Tearoom
• Medium Dry Cider by Pant-Du Cyf
• Ty Tanglwyst Salted Butter by Ty Tanglwyst Dairy

Overall, an impressive 165 coveted Great Taste awards went to products from Wales this year, with 108 entries achieving 1-star, 47 getting 2-stars and ten being deemed worthy of the 3-star accolade. This year’s competition witnessed a 25% upsurge in Welsh entries, rising from 99 companies entering 374 products in 2014 to 143 companies putting 491 products forward for consideration in 2015.

Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, Rebecca Evans, said:

“Having a record number of Welsh entrants and 3-star winners awarded at this year’s Great Taste is testament to the great strides we are making as a country in raising the profile and reputation of Welsh food and drink.

“Having the awards judged on home soil for the first time has helped us showcase the best of the best – but more than that, it is has given our businesses the springboard for future success and enabled us to position Wales as a serious food destination. This will further help us work towards achieving our ambitious target to sustainably grow the food and drink sector by 30% to £7 billion by the year 2020.”

John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, explains:

“The increase in Welsh 3-star winners this year has been a real pleasure to see, with the dairy and cider products in particular impressing the palates of our supremely talented judges. I’d like to encourage more food and drink producers in Wales to enter Great Taste in 2016 and beyond, helping to build the profile of Welsh produce to a worldwide audience which we know is eager to source from the list of Great Taste stars.”

The next stage will see the Top 50 Foods being announced on twitter @guildoffinefood #Top50Foods between 1-5 September. Then the final announcement of the winner of Great Taste Supreme Champion, sponsored by Harrods, and the regional Golden Fork Awards will be made in London on the 8th September.

A full list of all Welsh winners is available from on the Food and Drink Waleswebsite