Producers of pasta, meat, gin, chocolate and cakes in Nottinghamshire are celebrating winning Great Taste Awards, making them some of the best across the globe. More than 5,000 products won awards out of over 14,000 entries.
They were blind tasted by 500 judges in the world's largest food and drink accreditation scheme based entirely on taste. Entries are awarded stars, with one meaning food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour, two for above and beyond delicious and three classing it as extraordinarily tasty.
Of the 45 Nottinghamshire awards, two achieved the prestigious three stars, making them just 1.7% of the total entries. Free range pork shoulder, from Home Farm Produce in Retford, and 'nduja and honey mezzaluna (moon-shaped filled pasta) manufactured by GCL Food Ingredients in Newthorpe, wowed the judges' taste buds.
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GCL Food Ingredients, which has a 125-strong workforce at Moorgreen Industrial Park, supplies Italian chain restaurants across the UK such as Zizzi, Ask Italian and Carluccio's. They are no strangers to the annual awards, having won stars previously, but marketing executive Caitlin Butkebicius said: "This is the highest we've ever got. It's massive because it's the biggest one for the company so far.
"The product is really good. We are happy with the result. We supply restaurants so they (the mezzaluna) may have been put on a restaurant menu as a seasonal dish for a few months."
A cafe in the hamlet of Maythorne, just outside Southwell, has triumphed with four one-star awards for its gluten-free cakes. The tally brings the total number of Great Taste Awards won in the last few years to 25 for All Mine Cakes by the Lake.
Sticky ginger cake, mincemeat Bakewell tart, carrot cake with cardamom and pistachio and white chocolate and raspberry loaf ticked all the boxes for judges. Owner Hayley Schofield, a former nurse at the Queen’s Medical Centre, said: "To win another four awards for my cakes is absolutely incredible, my customers are my judges every day. However, to be acknowledged in the Oscars of the food world is amazing.
"The tearoom is a gluten-free site which doesn’t handle wheat, gluten, rye, malt barley, gluten free oats or gluten free oat milk (plus we are a peanut free site). As a previous nurse, myself and my team understand the importance of allergies, dietary intolerances or lifestyle choices.
"Being awarded East Midlands Cafe of the Year 2020-21 shows we aren’t just about gluten-free and free from food, our ethos is to create beautiful cakes and food using the best ingredients possible which everyone can enjoy without realising we are a gluten-free tearoom located in a beautiful hamlet of Maythorne with views over the fishing lake."
The full list of Nottinghamshire winners:
Three stars
- Home Farm Produce - Free range pork shoulder
- GCL Food Ingredients - 'nduja and honey mezzaluna
Two stars
- Colston Bassett Dairy - Shropshire Blue
- G H Porter Provisions - Smoke drycure bacon
- The Oxton Liqueur Company - Christmas Vodka Liqueur
- The Amazing Chocolate Workshop - Tanzania Sichuan 75% chocolate
- Luisa's Vegan Chocolates - Uganda 72% chocolate
- Freshly Spiced - Berbere Spice Blend
- AE Chambers - Charcoal Ploughman's Pie
- Clarke's Craft Butchers - Smoked bacon and Stilton sausage
- The Ruddy Fine Distillery - Ruddy Fine Navy Strength Gin
- Ryan Owens Chocolate - Salted caramel
One star
Cropwell Bishop Creamery - Blue Shropshire
Cropwell Bishop Creamery - Beauvale
Borderfields - Gold cold pressed rapeseed oil
Lovely Fodder - HAPPi Oat M!lk Chocolate Honeycomb Nibbles
Newfield Dairy Ice Cream Parlour & Café - Salted pecan and maple syrup ice cream
All Mine Cakes by the Lake - Gluten and dairy-free sticky ginger cake
- All Mine Cakes by the Lake - Gluten-free mincemeat Bakewell tart
All Mine Cakes by the Lake - Gluten and dairy-free carrot cake with cardamom and pistachio
All Mine Cakes by the Lake - Gluten-free white chocolate and raspberry loaf
Sauce Shop - Scotch Bonnet Jam
Sauce Shop - Sriracha Chilli Sauce
Welbeck Abbey Brewery - Skylight
Welbeck Abbey Brewery - Red Feather
Welbeck Abbey Brewery - Atlas Minikeg
Welbeck Abbey Brewery - Skylight Minikeg
Welbeck Abbey Brewery - Hennymoor Minikeg
The Amazing Chocolate Workshop - Cacao Fruit and Hazelnut 72%
Luisa's Vegan Chocolates - Casho-latte
Luisa's Vegan Chocolates - Sicilian Orange 75% Solomon Islands
Peacock Farm - Strawberry Vinegar
La Parisienne - Luxury vegan Christmas cake
Soho Juice Co - Cucumber, Mint, Lemon & Lime
Home Farm Produce - Handmade pork pie
Montrose Chocolate - Cox & Co. Single Origin Mint Crunch 60% Dark Chocolate Bar
Montrose Chocolate - Danny's Mighty Milk 37% sugar free chocolate bar
Loxley's Larder - Copra Spicy
Bonds of London - I Like Pina Coladas
Fudged Up - Majestic mint handmade Belgian chocolate fudge bar
AE Chambers Ltd - Black pudding
Woodrows Tea Company - Earl Grey
The Ruddy Fine Distillery - Ruddy Fine London Gin
The Ruddy Fine Distillery - Ruddy Fine Lockdown Gin
Ryan Owens Chocolate - Passion Fruit
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