Sensational seasoning wins Golden Fork, as small pinch lands a big punch
Great Taste, the world’s most trusted food and drink awards, has reached its grand finale for 2020, with the Great Taste Golden Fork from Northern Ireland presented to Craic Foods in Craigavon, County Armagh for its Black Garlic & Porcini Sea Salt.
An expertly balanced combination of slow aged black garlic, sea salt and wild porcini mushroom, created as a finishing seasoning or to add a boost of flavour to a wide range of meals, this product was a hit with the Great Taste judges. Noting its “sparkling rock appearance and rich earthy aroma”, the panel described Black Garlic & Porcini Sea Salt as “an umami flavour bomb”, as they enjoyed its “bold mushroom flavour, sweetness from the black garlic and a slight acidic lift toward the end to keep the overall experience clean.”
The Golden Fork from Northern Ireland was sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland and also nominated this year were the Great Taste 3-star winning; Abernethy Lemon Curd from The Little Bakehouse in Dromore, County Down and Wild Sika Venison French Rack from Baronscourt Estate in Newtownstewart, County Tyrone.
Having impressed at every stage of the blind-tasted judging process, as a record-breaking 12,777 entries were assessed over 14 weeks of remote judging and socially distanced judging sessions, the “intense, but balanced” Black Garlic & Porcini Sea Salt was celebrated as the best tasting product in Northern Ireland during the virtual Great Taste Golden Fork award ceremony on Thursday 22 October.
Taking place across the Guild of Fine Food’s social media channels and website, the online event brought together food lovers, producers, retailers, buyers and chefs to discover this year’s stars of food and drink, providing a vital boost for the industry as the nation moves towards the most important Christmas period in a generation. Held later in the year than usual, after the lockdown interrupted judging just one week into the schedule, the Golden Fork trophy announcements are the final instalment in a Great Taste calendar that has been reinvented at every stage, in order to stimulate much-needed consumer support for independent retail and hospitality over the challenging months ahead.
This year’s panel of judges included; cook, writer and champion of sustainable food, Melissa Hemsley, cook, writer, stylist and voice of modern vegetarian cooking, Anna Jones, celebrated Spanish chef, José Pizarro, Kavi Thakrar from Dishoom, food writer and cook, Xanthe Clay, and baker and author, Martha Collison, as well as food buyers from Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose. These esteemed palates tasted and re-judged the 3-star winners to finally agree on the Golden Fork trophy winners and the Great Taste 2020 Supreme Champion.
Winner contact details: Paul Clarke at Craic Foods Mob: 07595 565711 www.craicfoods.com
Officially the tastiest food product in NI….Congratulations to Paul Clarke and all the team @craicfoods on winning the 2020 #GreatTasteAwards #GoldenFork from Northern Ireland Award sponsored by @InvestNI for Craic Foods ‘Black Garlic and Porcini Sea Salt’ #goldenforkfornorthernireland #CraicFoods…