Great Taste Award 2023
Press Release: Immediate Release
Date: 8th August 2023
Bulldog Bakes tastes Great Taste success after entering through 30th anniversary bursary scheme
Judged by the experts, Bulldog Bake’s Triple Chocolate Brownie is awarded a Great Taste 1 star in world’s most coveted food and drink awards.
Galashiels based dog friendly Bakery & Coffee shop, Bulldog Bakes has been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, picking up a highly prized 1-star Great Taste award for its Triple Chocolate Brownie
New for this year and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Great Taste, the Guild of Fine Food offered 50 micro producers the chance to put one new product in front of its expert panel of Great Taste judges for free. The bursary was aimed at micro producers who have never entered Great Taste before or have a new product, which has never been entered before. The bursary panel, which consisted of Adrian Boswell, buyer at Selfridges, industry commentator and food entrepreneur Mallika Basu, and PR & marketing expert AJ Sharp, selected the 50 most eligible entries. The recipients of the bursary then participated in the same rigorous blind-tasting process as all 14,195 food and drink entries, with judges unaware of their bursary status.
With the news of a one-star rating for its Triple Chocolate Brownie, Bulldog Bakes becomes one of the first cohort of bursary applicants to win a Great Taste award and joins 20 other successful companies who participated in the scheme this year.
Christabel Cairns, operations and marketing director at the Guild of Fine Food comments: “We’re really proud to have launched the bursary scheme to celebrate 30 years of Great Taste discovering fantastic food and drink. There are some brilliant products that have more than held their own through the judging process. We’re looking forward to supporting our 21 bursary winners with further initiatives later this year and following their progress after their success.”
14,195 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process; and Bulldog Bakes Triple Chocolate Brownie was dubbed a “Wonderful Brownie” at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards. 4,088 products were awarded a Great Taste 1-star – ‘food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’, 1,568 were awarded a Great Taste 2-star – ‘above and beyond delicious’, and 248 were awarded a Great Taste 3-star – ‘extraordinarily tasty food and drink’.
Described as “very moreish”, this Brownie was a big hit with the Great Taste judges.
Made with high quality chocolate and locally sourced free-range eggs, the Triple Chocolate Brownie was one of 5,904products to receive a Great Taste award in 2023 (which is only 41.6% of the total products entered).
Aaron from Bulldog Bakes comments: “We are thrilled to have won a Great Taste award for our Triple Chocolate Brownie. I personally have dreamt of this moment and I’m so proud to be adding the prestigious black and gold Great Taste badge of honour to our Triple Chocolate Brownie. We started baking from our home kitchen during lockdowns so to be where we are today is truly a dream come true.
“Being recognised with a Great Taste 1-star means so much to independent producers such as myself, as it makes all the hard work and determination worth it! Great Taste is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink industry, so it’s a huge moment for us! William concludes.
What is Great Taste?
Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.
This year, judging took place over 89 days in Dorset and London, with a panel of more than 500 judges putting the products to the test. The line-up saw food and drink products submitted from an extraordinary 109 different countries across the world.
The Triple Chocolate Brownie is available from Bulldog Bakes. RRP: £20 for a full 9-inch tray
For more information about Bulldog Bakes, visit www.BulldogBakes.co.uk.
The full list of this year’s winners and where to buy them can be found at www.greattasteawards.co.uk and a wide range of the award-winning products are available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retailers across the country.
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For more information, imagery or interview opportunities, contact Aaron Mason on Aaron@bulldogbakes.co.uk
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www.instagram.com/bulldog_bakes
Editor’s notes:
Bulldog Bakes opened their Bakehouse in Galashiels in September 2022 combining their love for dogs, cake & coffee into their Dog friendly Cake & Coffee shop. They offer a wide range of baked to order treats on their website alongside a varied selection available daily from their Bakehouse. Bulldog Bakes make a conscious effort to limit the impact they have on the environment by using locally sourced ingredients and they work with Ecologi to plant a tree for every order they receive.
Established in 1994, Great Taste is organised by the Guild of Fine Food and is the world’s largest, longest standing and most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers.
Every Great Taste award has a validity of three years, i.e. a Great Taste 2023 award will be valid, and may be displayed on a product, until the results are released for Great Taste 2026. All awards must always be displayed against the exact product for which they have been won.
As well as Great Taste, the Guild of Fine Food is known for publishing the industry-leading magazine, Fine Food Digest, and the global phenomenon, that is the World Cheese Awards. Plus, further events including award ceremonies and Great Taste markets, trade shows, training sessions and member initiatives throughout the year.
Visit – gff.co.uk