It May Be Humble And It May Be Beef Dripping But It's Reached The Great Taste 2014 Top 50 Foods

Toast and dripping, hand cut chips triple-fried in dripping and dripping candles served with a pile of sea salt – it seems that dripping has hit the big time again. Now, Beef Dripping made by James Whelan Butchers of Nenagh, County Tipperary in Ireland, has been named one of the Top 50 Foods in Great Taste 2014.

The Top 50 Foods list has just been released and it's now available on www.greattasteawards.co.uk and also in print at Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2014 which is the highlight trade show of the year for artisan, speciality and fine food producers. The Top 50 Foods list is judged by the most experienced and professional food judges who have blind-tasted each and every product before declaring it truly worthy of its position on the list. From Raw Organic Wild Rata Honey to Blaisdon Red Plum Jam, Beef Dripping to Raspberry Sorbetto, Jaffys Mallaig Kippers to Aged Gouda made in Yorkshire, Steak & Stilton Pie to Matured Vintage Cider, the Top 50 Foods list is a culinary journey of the most exquisite, the most delicious, the most WOW foods in the UK and beyond.

10,000 food and drink entries poured into Great Taste 2014 and after weeks of judging, the products with real wow factor moved onwards, slowly but surely meeting the approval of more and more judges. Finally the Top 50 Foods were decided and now the list is revealed for all to see and most importantly – to taste.

“Our judges urge everyone to go out and find the foods that are on the Great Taste Top 50 Foods list. In every deli, farm shop and on menus in restaurants, cafes and pubs, it should be possible to find one of the foods on the list. We hope that consumers will make a point of looking for the Great Taste Top 50 Foods logo, which is a badge of honour for the product and its producer,” explained John Farrand, MD of the Guild of Fine Food, founders and organisers of Great Taste since 1994.

Now the producers of the Top 50 Foods will wait with baited breath to see if they have gone on to win the top awards in each region which will be announced at the Great Taste Golden Fork Awards Dinner in London on September 8th.

Great Taste is simply about taste, not clever branding or smart packaging. Judges are presented with a spoonful of jam, a pie, a slice of salami, or a cup of espresso, with no wrappings, jars or marks – and they taste, confer and re-taste before making the decision on whether a product should be a Great Taste 1-, 2- or 3-star winner.

Judged by over 400 of the most demanding palates belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, Women's Institute judges, producers and a host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers. In the words of highly regarded restaurant and food critic Charles Campion, “Great Taste is the only food award worth having”.

Facts and figures about Great Taste:

10,000 different products entered in 2014 (Great Taste entry is capped at 10,000)

Judging in Dorset at Guild HQ in Gillingham and several other Dorset venues, also in Belfast, Devon, Yorkshire and Middlesex

2531 awarded 1-star

697 awarded 2-star

153 awarded 3-star

Then the final announcement of the winner of Great Taste Supreme Champion 2014, sponsored by Harrods, and the regional Golden Fork Awards will be made in London on the 8th September.

For further information please contact any of the following: Joanne Myram at Positive PR on: joanne@positivepr.co.uk 01935 389497

Or tortie.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk or john.farrand@finefoodworld.co.uk 01747 825200

www.finefoodworld.co.ukwww.greattasteawards.co.uk

Notes

What do Great Taste judges look for?

They look for great texture and appearance. They judge the quality of ingredients and how well the maker has put the food or drink together. But above all, they look for truly great taste. Working in small teams, experts taste 25 foods in each sitting, discussing each product as a coordinating food writer transcribes their comments directly onto the Great Taste website which producers access after judging is completed. Over the years, numerous food businesses, start-ups and well established producers have been advised how to modify their foods and have subsequently gone on to achieve star status. Any food that a judging team believes is worthy of a star is judged by at least two further teams. Only when there is a consensus will a star be awarded. For 3-stars, every single judge attending the session, which can be as many as 40 experts must unanimously agree the food delivers that indescribable 'wow' factor.

★★★ EXQUISITE. WOW! TASTE THAT ★★ OUTSTANDING ★ SIMPLY DELICIOUS