Our FoodNI Great Taste Winners 2023
Dozens of Food NI members made up the vast majority of Great Taste Award winners 2023. Morelli’s Pistachio Swirl Ice Cream by Morelli Ice Cream was one of 9 3-star products won by Northern Ireland producers and Food NI members. Morelli’s also took 3 stars for their Clotted Cream Ice
Cream with Irish Black Butter. Maud’s Ice Cream got 3 stars for their Pistachio Ice Cream.
There were three stars for Hannan’s Koji and Buttermilk Pork Chops as well as Baronscourt Estate’s Wild Sika Venison Loin and French Rack. Ballyboley Dexter 28 day Dry-aged On the Bone Rump Steak also made the 3-star grade as did Whitewater Brewery/ Hinch Distillery’s Barrel Aged Stout.
Several members including Spadetown Brewery’s Po-Faced Pils got 2 stars as did Get Er Brewed Do You Wanna Funk Hop Forward IPA, Lacada’s Brewery’s Blue Pool, Basalt Distillery’s Giants Rock Basalt Gin, Thompson’s Our Favourite Everyday, Irish Breakfast, Scottish Blend and Punjana teas,
Portilla’s Sandona Coffee, Coney Island Coffee’s 200 hour Fermented Colombia, Forest Feast Whole Canadian Dried Cranberries, Granny Shaw’s Shut Yer Gob Irish Stout Toffee, Fairley’s Flavours Fiery
Reaper Hot Sauce, Burren Balsamics’ Armagh Bramley Apple Infused Balsamic Vinegar, Craic Foods Wasabi and Kombu Sea Salt, Hannan Meats’ Sugar Pit Bacon Rack, Sugar Pit Bacon Chop, Salt Aged Pancetta, Whole Belly Porchetta, Miso Sirloin and Steak and Ale Pie, Corndale Charcuterie Free
Range Fennel Salami, Linden Foods Kettyle Irish Foods Salt Moss Aged King Arthur Joint and Marrow Melt 200g Chubb , Carnbrooke Wagyu Ribeye Steak, Wagyu Cote de Boeuf and Wagyu Steak Burger,
Rooney’s Millbay Oysters, Ballyrashane Salted Butter, Ben’s Vanilla Delight Ice-Cream, Dukes Salt and Caramel Ice Cream and Draynes Farm Mango and Passionfruit Sorbet.
Food NI members who are 1-star winners include Get Er Brewed who won a total of 3 1-star awards for Pressure to Pick Italian Pilsner, Modern Love Pale Ale and Frankie and Eileen’s Gin.
Lakeland Dairies got 4 1 star awards for Ballyrashane Semi-Skimmed Milk and Whole Milk, Ballyrashane Buttermilk and Ballyrashane Double Cream.
MacIvor’s Cider who took two 1- star awards for Dry Irish and Medium Irish Ciders. Brewery winners include McCrackens’s (1 star) Premium Pilsner, Lacada Brewery’s East the Beast and Spadetown’s Ragin’ Red Ale. Moocha Kombucha’s Elderflower and Lemon and Lemon and Ginger got a star each, as did Punjana Ltd for Thompson’s Decaf, Suki Lemon and Ginger Tea and Portilla’s Comuna Café.
In Snacks, Burren Balsamics got a star each for Proper Digestive Biscuits, Burger Sauce, Black Garlic Balsamic Vinegar and Tarragon-infused White Condiment. Glens of Antrim Potatoes Shindig Crisps won a star each for four flavours- Irish Sea Salt and Vinegar, Mature Irish Cheddar and Sweet Onion, Sour Cream and Shamrock Ridged Crisps and Whiskey Smoked Bacon Ridged Crisps.
Kestrel Foods under their Forest Feast brand were successful with 1 stars for Slow Roasted Truffle and Pecorino Nut Mix and Preda Fair Trade Mango Slices and Nut Milk Choco Peanuts. L’Artisan Foods won a star for their Chicken and Broccoli Empanada as did Bertie’s Bakery for Wee Sodas and Sliced Wheaten and Madame Mac’s Coffee Macaron. 1 star for Springmount Farm Free Range Eggs!
Gold and Browne’s Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Brownie was awarded 1 star as did Granny Shaw’s “Shut Yer Gob” Treacle Fudge Toffee, En Place Foods Corndale Farm Nduja Ketchup and Isolt Chilli Paste, Blackfire Foods’ Bonfire Chipotle Sauce, Kennedy’s Dry-Cured Streaky Bacon, Corndale Charcuterie’s Wild Sika Venison Salami, Carnbrooke’s Wagyu Sirloin Steak, Linden Foods’ Kettyle Irish Foods Marrow Melt, Kettyle Irish Foods Salt Moss Aged Fillet, Kettyle Irish Foods Salt Moss Aged T- Bone, Ballyboley Pedigree Dexter 28 Day Dry Aged On the Bone Fillet Steak, Hannan Meats’ Koji Sirloin, Miso Pork Chop, Black Pudding with Bramley Apple, White Pudding, Chicken and Ham Pie and Gourmet Pork Sausage Roll Quails Fine Foods Pork Honey and Mustard Sausages, Baronscourt Estate Wild Sika Venison Burger, Lough Neagh Fisherman’s Co-Operative Lough Neagh Smoked Eel and Wild Lough Neagh Trout Fillet in a Garlic and Herb Marinade.
There were 1 star awards for Dundarave Estate’s Christmas Pudding, Abernethy Butter’s Truffle Butter, Glastry Farm’s Raspberry Ruffle Sorbet, Morelli’s Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream, Dulce de Leche with Macadamia Nut Ice Cream, Clotted Cream with Amarena Cherry Ice Cream, Duke’s
Premium Ice Cream Chocolate Brownie and Honeycomb Flavours, Jam at the Doorstep’s Sticky Toffee Pudding and Betty’s Dragon Fruit Dairy Ice Cream.
Mash Direct Beer Battered Chips and Beer Battered Onion Rings got a star each, Creightons of Balmoral did for Curried Parsnip Soup, Mourne Dew Distillery for their Premium Irish Vodka and Blackthorn Foods for their Butter Fudge. Crawford’s Rock got a star each for Pickled Seaweed, Apple
Cider Vinegar with Mother and Seaweed and Salt Chocolate. Deli Lites was awarded a star for their vegan Beets and Spirulina Crunch Pot as did TS Foods for their Fresh Breadcrumbs. All 3-star winning products were tasted and judged again to crown the Golden Fork trophy winners
and the 2023 Supreme Champion – the highest accolade of all.
All will be announced at the Great Taste Golden Fork Ceremony on Monday 11 September 2023 at the Battersea Arts Centre, London.
