QWhatmakestheawardsdifferent
fromotherfoodawards?Whyshould
I trustyourlogooverothers?
AIt’sallabouttherobustnessofthe
judging,butit’shard to communicate
that to people...QOkay,tellusaboutit
AIt’sa massivelogisticaloperationtaking
fiveorsixweekstogetthrough.Lastyear
wejudgedover12,500productsatsix
locations.Wehaveabout 800 judgeson
ourdatabase.Eachjudgewilltasteabout
40 food and drink products in a day.QCripes.Howis thejudgingorganised?
ATherearetablesofthreejudges.They
couldbetastinganything.Wedon’tjudge
onesausageagainstanotherbecause
that’snota healthysystem.It’snota
runningrace.If judgeslikea product,it’s
passedtoa secondtable.If theydisagree,
it goestoa thirdtable.Thissystem
hasevolvedovertheyears.It’squite
complicated but it’s thorough and fair.QCantheytastethingsinanyorder?
A Yes. A tip: don’t start with the chilli jam!QWhatqualifiessomeone as a judge?
Dotheygetpaid?
AWeinvitea mixtureofpeoplewholove
andknowaboutfood:tradepeople,chefs,
retailers,journalists...Themoretypesof
people,themoreobjectivetheresult.They
don’tgetpaid(apartfroma smallfeefor
those who record the results) but theyWhat’s all the fuss about...THE GREAT TASTE AWARDS?You’veseenthestarlabelsonproducts,butwhatdotheyactuallymean?We’re
delightedtosaydelicious.isnowthemediapartnerfortheGreatTasteAwards,
and we caught up with their head honcho John Farrand to get the inside storyWhat the stars mean...JUDGEMENTDAY
JohnFarrand
(left)andthe
judgeshavea
lotofproducts
togetthrough
overseveral
weeksoftasting
each year★SIMPLY DELICIOUS 3,409 awarded in 2019 ★★ OUTSTANDING 1,326 awarded in 2019 ★★★EXQUISITE 208 awarded in 2019enjoythechancetomingle and
have a bit of a gossip.QHowhasthelockdown
affectedthisyear’sawards?
AIt’sbeena challenge.We’re
normallyjudginginApril– fingers
crossed we can get it going in June...QIsit onlysmall producers that
canenter?
ANotatall.Anyproducercan
enterproducts,including
supermarketown-brands.Lastyear,Aldi
wonfour3-starawards– therewere
only 208 awardedsothey’recoveted.
Bigproducerspaymoretoenter,though,
on a tiered system. We think that’s fair.QAnyfunnystories?
AWell,I don’tknowif it’sfunnybut
it’sextraordinary:oneproducerfrom
Singaporeinsistedonflyingoverwith
theirsponge.Theywouldn’ttrust
a courierwithit.Someproducers are
so proud of their products...QSometimesyouwalkintoa deliand
it seemslikeeveryproducthasa Great
TasteAward.Doesn’tthatdevalueit?
AHa!I’dliketothinkthatvindicatesthe
awards:retailershavecometotrustthem
asa markofquality.WhenmyfatherBob
startedtheawardsintheNineties,it was
abouthelpingtheproducerstoimprove,
andtheretailerstosellbetterproducts.
I think we’ve helped that to happen.GREATTASTE:THESTATS
l146,000productsblind-
tastedsince 1994
l 75 daysofjudgingeachyear
(itstartedwithonedayin1994)
l 5 milliontastebudsbetween
the 500 judges
l61%ofentriesawarded
zilchin 2019
l 100 countriessupplying
theproducts
Theawardsareorganisedby
theGuildofFineFood(gff.co.uk).
Fora fulllistofwinnersvisit
greattasteawards.co.ukINTERVIEW: LES DUNN
deliciousmagazine.co.uk 105the q&a.