On a personal level it was great to catch up with Wern Ganol who we had the pleasure of meeting many years ago at The Great Roath Bake Off, his win at that Bake Off pushed him into taking his baking skills to another level. Seriously great cake! His fruit cake is as good as it gets and it pleases me to see that he's now showcasing his work at such events as Great Taste Wales.
Other familiar businesses such as Penylan Preserves were there displaying their array of delicious produce. Again their preserves are some of the best you'll ever taste and the chilli jam was out of this world! Meeting people like these and hearing them speak passionately about their work gives you a sense of pride knowing that such great quality food is coming out of Wales and most importantly being recognised for its excellence. It's lovely to see hard working individuals being celebrated for their hard work.
Another highlight was trying the Brains superb Barry Island Ale, as Ales go this is probably one of the most pleasant I've tasted and the guys from Brains spoke so enthusiastically about it and informed us of all the bars in Cardiff we can purchase it. Ale lovers should definitely seek it out or even if Ale is not your usual tipple give it a go, like us you could be pleasantly surprised. It was great to see a brand as popular as Brains amongst smaller businesses, it reminds us again of the great food and drink coming out of Wales.
Here's the press release following the Great Taste Wales Celebrations
Wales celebrates its great tasting food and drink stars
An extra reason to celebrate following the announcement that Wales will host next year’s Welsh round of Great Taste judging
In 2017, Wales will be the host venue for the judging of the Welsh entries of the Great Taste Awards 2017. This will be the second time that the judging for the awards are held in Wales and will be a wonderful opportunity to promote the wealth of quality and innovative products produced in Wales.
Announced today (Tuesday, 1 November) at the Great Taste Celebration event for the 2016 winners in Cardiff Bay the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM, said,
“Wales is excited to be hosting the judging of the Welsh food and drink entries for the Great Taste awards in 2017. It truly is wonderful to see that so many Welsh food and drink producers have been recognised at the Great Taste Awards 2016 and it highlights Wales as a country with the highest level of quality and innovation in food and drink production.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the Welsh entries the best of luck and very much look forward to celebrating their success in 2017.”
The Wales judging roadshow forms part of an eight week judging process which will see 10,000 products from the UK and beyond assessed by hundreds of independent judges, to include food and cookery writers, chefs, buyers and restauranteurs.
An impressive 125 coveted Great Taste awards went to products from Wales this year, with 96 entries achieving 1-star, 26 getting 2-stars and 3 being deemed worthy of the 3-star accolade. Among the elite selection of food and drink products to be awarded the acknowledged benchmark for fine food and drink were Bodnant Welsh Food’s Traditional Welsh Caerphilly cheese, Hilltop Honey’s Raw Thyme honey and Apple County Cider’s Dabinett Medium cider. In fact Apple County Cider also won the coveted Golden Fork award for the second year running.
Held today (1 November) at the St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay, food and drink producers from across Wales who were triumphant in gaining elusive gold stars at the UK-leading Great Taste awards came together to exhibit their award winning produce.
Hosted by the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, the showcase was aimed to give producers a platform to highlight their produce at a national level, in addition to celebrating the producer’s success. Major food buyers from leading supermarkets, luxury department stores, specialist delicatessens and the public sector attended eager to sample the best that Welsh food and drink has to offer.
Winning companies in attendance included Blas ar Fwyd, Calon Wen, Cathryn Cariad Chocolates, Gower View Foods, Llaeth y Llan/Village Dairy, Radnor Preserves, Selwyn’s Seafoods, Snowdona Cheese Company, The Patchwork Traditional Food Company, The Traditional Welsh Sausage Company (Edwards of Conwy) and Welsh Speciality Foods among others.
Nigel Barden, Chairman of Judges for the esteemed Great Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, was delighted at the strength of the Welsh winners in this year’s GTA’s,
“A Great Taste award, be it one, two or three stars, is a magnificent achievement and a tangible sign of quality and excellence. The standard of Welsh entries is consistently high and reflects the ever increasing commitment to top notch food and drink emanating from the country.
I would be delighted if even more Welsh producers enter the Great Taste Awards in 2017, as GTA accreditation offers an invaluable platform to producers and retailers. The black and gold GTA sticker is recognised internationally, making it an excellent worldwide marketing tool.”
Each year, the Great Taste Awards are organised by the Guild of Fine Food and are among the world’s largest blind tested food award schemes. Gold stars are an acknowledged benchmark for speciality food and drink products. One star means that’s the product was ‘Close to perfect’ whilst two stars represents the product being ‘faultless’ and three stars meaning ‘Wow, you must taste this’.
Winners undergo rigorous testing from over 400 industry respected judges including top chefs, restauranteurs and acclaimed food writers to gain their gold stars. Judges test products blindly ensuring this award scheme is based on nothing but ‘Great Taste’.
Entries for the Great Taste Awards 2017 open for members from 18 January 2017 with general entries opening from 1 February 2017.Wales celebrates its great tasting food and drink stars
An extra reason to celebrate following the announcement that Wales will host next year’s Welsh round of Great Taste judging
In 2017, Wales will be the host venue for the judging of the Welsh entries of the Great Taste Awards 2017. This will be the second time that the judging for the awards are held in Wales and will be a wonderful opportunity to promote the wealth of quality and innovative products produced in Wales.
Announced today (Tuesday, 1 November) at the Great Taste Celebration event for the 2016 winners in Cardiff Bay the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM, said,
“Wales is excited to be hosting the judging of the Welsh food and drink entries for the Great Taste awards in 2017. It truly is wonderful to see that so many Welsh food and drink producers have been recognised at the Great Taste Awards 2016 and it highlights Wales as a country with the highest level of quality and innovation in food and drink production.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the Welsh entries the best of luck and very much look forward to celebrating their success in 2017.”
The Wales judging roadshow forms part of an eight week judging process which will see 10,000 products from the UK and beyond assessed by hundreds of independent judges, to include food and cookery writers, chefs, buyers and restauranteurs.
An impressive 125 coveted Great Taste awards went to products from Wales this year, with 96 entries achieving 1-star, 26 getting 2-stars and 3 being deemed worthy of the 3-star accolade. Among the elite selection of food and drink products to be awarded the acknowledged benchmark for fine food and drink were Bodnant Welsh Food’s Traditional Welsh Caerphilly cheese, Hilltop Honey’s Raw Thyme honey and Apple County Cider’s Dabinett Medium cider. In fact Apple County Cider also won the coveted Golden Fork award for the second year running.
Held today (1 November) at the St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay, food and drink producers from across Wales who were triumphant in gaining elusive gold stars at the UK-leading Great Taste awards came together to exhibit their award winning produce.
Hosted by the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, the showcase was aimed to give producers a platform to highlight their produce at a national level, in addition to celebrating the producer’s success. Major food buyers from leading supermarkets, luxury department stores, specialist delicatessens and the public sector attended eager to sample the best that Welsh food and drink has to offer.
Winning companies in attendance included Blas ar Fwyd, Calon Wen, Cathryn Cariad Chocolates, Gower View Foods, Llaeth y Llan/Village Dairy, Radnor Preserves, Selwyn’s Seafoods, Snowdona Cheese Company, The Patchwork Traditional Food Company, The Traditional Welsh Sausage Company (Edwards of Conwy) and Welsh Speciality Foods among others.
Nigel Barden, Chairman of Judges for the esteemed Great Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, was delighted at the strength of the Welsh winners in this year’s GTA’s,
“A Great Taste award, be it one, two or three stars, is a magnificent achievement and a tangible sign of quality and excellence. The standard of Welsh entries is consistently high and reflects the ever increasing commitment to top notch food and drink emanating from the country.
I would be delighted if even more Welsh producers enter the Great Taste Awards in 2017, as GTA accreditation offers an invaluable platform to producers and retailers. The black and gold GTA sticker is recognised internationally, making it an excellent worldwide marketing tool.”
Each year, the Great Taste Awards are organised by the Guild of Fine Food and are among the world’s largest blind tested food award schemes. Gold stars are an acknowledged benchmark for speciality food and drink products. One star means that’s the product was ‘Close to perfect’ whilst two stars represents the product being ‘faultless’ and three stars meaning ‘Wow, you must taste this’.
Winners undergo rigorous testing from over 400 industry respected judges including top chefs, restauranteurs and acclaimed food writers to gain their gold stars. Judges test products blindly ensuring this award scheme is based on nothing but ‘Great Taste’.
Entries for the Great Taste Awards 2017 open for members from 18 January 2017 with general entries opening from 1 February 2017.
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