Pistachio Ice Cream scoops Great Taste Golden Fork award for Northern Ireland

Pistachio Ice Cream from Mauds Ice Creams is officially the tastiest product in Northern Ireland!

The winner of this year's Great Taste Golden Fork Award for Northern Ireland, a pistachio ice cream produced by Co Antrim-based Mauds Ice Creams, was announced at the grand finale of the world’s largest food and drink accreditation scheme based entirely on taste, at a ceremony held at Battersea Arts Centre in London.

Described as “smooth and creamy with an instant hit of freshly roasted nut”, the Pistachio Ice Cream is made by the Mauds production team at their bespoke dairy in Carrickfergus, using the best ingredients and is a firm favourite amongst the team. It impressed the Great Taste judges with its “thick, unctuous texture and waves of delicious flavour” at every stage of the blind-tasted judging process across 89 days in Dorset and London.

An incredible 14,195 product entries from 3,609 artisan food and drink companies across the world were tasted and considered for the black and gold badge of honour. Rising to the top of hundreds of other entries from Northern Ireland, this “simply delicious” pistachio ice cream was celebrated as the best tasting product in its country at the highly anticipated awards ceremony which marks the culmination of Great Taste 2023, dubbed the ‘Oscars’ of the food & drink world.

Not only that but it also made its way into the top sixteen highest-scoring product list in the whole competition and in the running for the 2023 Great Taste Supreme Champion.

The Great Taste Golden Fork from Northern Ireland is sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland.  Also nominated this year were the Great Taste 3-star Koji Pork Chop & Buttermilk Pork Chop from Hannan Meats; Pistachio Swirl Ice Cream & Clotted Cream with Irish Black Butter Ice Cream from Morellis; Wild Sika Venison French Rack & Wild Sike Venison Loin from Baronscourt Estate; Guanciale from William Grant & Co; Whitewater/Hinch Irish Whisky Barrel Aged Stout from Whitewater Brewing and 28-day Dry Aged on the Bone Rump Steak from Ballyboley Dexters.

John Farrand, managing director at the Guild of Fine Food commented: “Announcing the Great Taste Golden Fork winners is always a huge honour and a real celebration of all of the producers reaching the finale of the Great Taste judging season.

“After months of rigorous blind-tasting and judging with a team of over 500 judges, it is fantastic to reveal the award-winning products and celebrate the producers' hard work and innovation. It’s been an exceptional year for both creative and traditional food and drink entries, with many products showing us that well-made food and drink will always stand out when put to the test. Huge congratulations from all of us at the Guild to all the award winners who have risen to the top and proven to be the best of the best international food and drink. Thank you to everyone who was involved in another successful year of Great Taste.”

For more information on Mauds Ice Creams, visit https://www.mauds.com

L-R: Siobhan McElhinney and Roberta Wilson from Mauds Ice Cream along with Michelle Charrington, Invest Northern Ireland, sponsor of the Northern Ireland Golden Fork award.