Dubbed the ‘Oscars’ of the food and drink world, the Great Taste accreditation scheme allows food and drink producers to put their products to the test with a panel of over 500 experts, a quick and cost-effective way to get honest, straightforward market feedback from chefs, buyers, food retailers, restaurateurs, producers, and food writers.

Every year, over 14,000 products from more than 100 countries around the world are put forward and judged entirely on taste, with on average only 35% going on to win a 1-, 2- or 3-star award; a logo which is becoming increasingly known amongst UK adults, with 55% saying it would persuade them to buy a product[i].

INVALUABLE FEEDBACK

John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food said: “Another year of Great Taste has begun, what an exciting time. We look forward to starting the process once more and discovering a roster of great tasting and inspirational products on our judging tables.

“Put your food or drink in front of our panel; every entry receives invaluable feedback from a world class array of industry experts which can be used to shape product development.”

The closing date for entries is midday on Tuesday 7^th February, with judging set to take place from mid-March until the middle of June. Entrants results and feedback is anticipated on 1^st August from 10am, with the results being made public at 2pm on 1^st August on www.greattasteawards.co.uk

This will be followed by the Great Taste Golden Forks award ceremony and tasting in September.

Great Taste’s prestigious judging panel is made up of over 500 food and drink professionals, including chefs, buyers, food retailers, restaurateurs, producers, and food writers. Every product is assessed purely on taste, and regardless of whether it wins an award, is given written feedback by the panel of esteemed judges.

Entries are now open via https://gff.co.uk/greattaste

[i] YouGov fieldwork undertaken December 2022. Total sample size: 2,021 adults. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

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Rolling out from this month, the new and improved vegetable crisps are crunchier and more vibrant in colour, delivering an even better ‘Tyrrellbly Tyrrellbly Tasty’ experience.

Tyrrells, which sources the freshest, highest quality vegetables, has invested in new technology, including vertical ovens, to fry, dry and spin its Veg Crisps to perfection. Hand-cooked and lightly seasoned, Tyrrells Veg Crisps offer shoppers a delicious alternative to potato crisps.

Already the number one vegetable crisp, with a 43% share of the total category, Tyrrells is on a mission to deliver the ‘best ever vegetable crisp’, offering a premium snacking experience to make social events more delicious.

Available in three tasty SKUs Veg Crisps with Sea Salt, Veg Crisps with Balsamic Vinegar & Sea Salt and Sweet Potato Crisps with Sea Salt, Tyrrells Veg Crisps deliver a deliciously crunchy and flavourful snacking experience.

Dan Winslet, Global Tyrrells Marketing Controller, says: “The Tyrrells brand is synonymous with delicious flavours and excellent quality, and we are delighted to be launching our best ever Tyrrells Veg Crisps in line with our commitment to deliver the tastiest premium snacks.

“As the category leader, our Veg Crisps are critical for driving sales, with vegetable crisp shoppers spending more than the average CSN shopper and also purchasing more frequently.”

Worth £57M RSV and growing +3% MAT in the UK, Tyrrells products are currently purchased by over 6m households with its main shoppers falling within the 45yr+ ABC1 category. The brand has a 13.1% share of Premium Crisps and Snacks with value sales growing in the sharing segment. With an impressive 91 Great Taste Awards across the range, Tyrrells is the perfect brand to cater for those memorable sharing occasions.

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Carolyn’s new business unit houses a bespoke 800 square foot industrial kitchen unit which allows her to produce her artisan Jamaican Patty range on a large scale.

Carolyn, a favourite on U105’s afternoon Bistro show, set up Turn up the Flavour in 2016 following a lifelong love of cooking and Caribbean flavours.

The brand, which started with a Caribbean Pickle product, has grown steadily year-on-year and four of her products were recognised at both the Irish Food Awards, winning Gold and Bronze, and the Great Taste Awards gaining stars, meaning they were graded as ‘outstanding’ against 14,000 products from 108 countries.

She has since diversified into hand-producing delicious Jamaican Patties which are now sold in delicatessens across Northern Ireland.

The move to Townsend Enterprise Park – a charitable organisation whose aim it is to stimulate social and economic regeneration – has allowed Carolyn to upscale the production of the Patty product, allowing her to make up to 300 products per day to meet growing demand.

Carolyn says that the new product was inspired following many trips to Jamaica where she fell in love with the street food.

She said: “I have been to Jamaica many times and always absolutely loved their Patty Shacks across the island, all selling the most delicious, flavoursome and unique patties. I have been on a mission to develop my own take on these for the past few years and am absolutely delighted with our finished product.

“We spent many months developing the recipes and have honed ours down to four combinations; Beef, Chicken, Veggie and Vegan, all home-made using the freshest local Northern Ireland ingredients.

Our new premises at Townsend, located just off the Westlink in Belfast, are the perfect location for both production and indeed delivery to our various outlets across Northern Ireland.”

Margaret Patterson McMahon, CEO of Townsend Enterprise Park continued: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Carolyn to our thriving and diverse business community at Townsend Enterprise Park.

“Carolyn epitomizes what Townsend Enterprise Park is all about. Innovation, combined with a determination to succeed, alongside hard-work and a fantastic community-based attitude.  Carolyn has a wonderful outgoing and giving nature and is already working in partnership with some of our other businesses on-site. I have no doubt that her business will grow from strength to strength, and we look forward to supporting Carolyn on that journey in any way that we can.”

Townsend Enterprise Park is home to 46 small-to-medium sized businesses, employing over 300 people from across the city and beyond, providing flexible workspaces, meeting, and training and conference rooms.

Other businesses housed there include a professional laundry servicing the hospitality and sports industry, a reflexologist training service, a florist, marble specialists, artists and makers, glazier and a series of other charitable organisations including a homeless and fresh food bank charity.

Caption: Margaret Patterson McMahon, CEO of Townsend Enterprise Park alongside Carolyn Stewart, owner of Turn up the Flavour.

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Following a record-breaking 14,205 food and drink entries from 110 countries across the world, Great Taste, the world’s largest food and drink accreditation scheme based entirely on taste, held its grand finale for 2022 earlier this week.

Announced at the Great Taste Golden Forks ceremony held at Southwark Cathedral, the Great Taste Golden Fork trophy for Northern Ireland was awarded to Baronscourt Estate from Tyrone for its Wild Sika Venison Loin, described as having “flavours of game and natural sweetness which balance beautifully and sing out” and “a rich red colour”.

The Wild Sika Venison Loin comes from wild sika deer that roam Northern Ireland’s Baronscourt Estate.

Impressing the Great Taste judges with its “bold aroma which was followed by bold flavour”, the Wild Sika Venison Loin made an impression at every stage of the blind-tasted judging process across the 90 days.

Rising to the top among hundreds of other entries from Northern Ireland, this “rich and tender” loin was celebrated as the best tasting product in its region at the highly anticipated ceremony – the culmination of Great Taste – the largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme on the planet – dubbed the ‘Oscars’ of the food & drink world and attended by food industry experts and influencers.

John Farrand, managing director at the Guild of Fine Food comments: “Unveiling the Great Taste Golden Fork winners is a huge honour. After months of rigorous blind-tasting and judging, it is fantastic to reveal the award-winning products and celebrate the producers’ hard work and innovation.

It’s been an exceptional year for creativity and inspirational food and drink entries. Huge congratulations from all of us at GFF to all the award winners, it really isn’t easy to do what you do – I have the utmost admiration for you all. And thank you to everyone who was involved in Great Taste 2022.”

The Great Taste Golden Fork from Northern Ireland was sponsored by Invest NI. Also nominated this year were the Great Taste 3-star Corndale Chorizo Picante from Corndale Charcuterie based in Londonderry and The Single Rose, Ballylisk of Armagh Farmhouse Brie from Ballylisk Dairies based in Armagh.

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