My Morning Chocolate

My good friend Kim alerted me to a major award ceremony that took place in the UK this week – The Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards on September 6. I am so happy that my lovely friend told me about this event, one I never would have known existed without her, and that this also means she is reading my blog, at least sometimes. Therefore, I dedicate this week’s Food News to Kim and the Great Taste Awards:

The Great Taste Awards: Through this event, The Guild of Fine Foods gave top awards to 14 products falling under the categories of sweets, meats, cheese, and drinks. One of them received the top prize – the title of Supreme Champion. See the full list of winners here.

Best in Show: The Supreme Champion title was given to More? The Artisan Bakery, who also won in the Best Specialty from the Northwest category, for their More Muddees, a gluten-free chocolate brownie. From their website: “Cooked to heavenly muddee perfection, with an egg shell crisp crust and a deliciously rich and moist middle, our Muddees guarantee the ultimate chocolate fix.” Mmm. Unfortunately those of us living state-side will have to travel to the UK’s Lake District to sample them – they currently do not sell their products online. Perhaps enough of us can convince them to do so? For those of you in the UK, give these a try and tell us how they taste.

Order by Mail Winners: The following products are not only the best in the region, but they can also be purchased online, albeit for higher shipping costs:

• Swaledale Blue: The Swaledale Cheese Company produces this blue cheese, named the Best Specialty from Yorkshire & Humber. Prices range from 5 pounds for 250 grams ($8.35 for 1/2 lb.*) of cheese to 28 pounds for 2.3 kilograms ($46.75 for 5 lbs., 1.13 ounces).
• Tea: You gotta think Tea, a company that is not only British but also won Best Performance by a First Time Entrant in the Great Taste Awards, knows something about producing good tea. Tea (the company) sells six categories of tea (the product) – black, green, oolong, white, infusion, and super – and a 100-gram packet ranges (a little less than a quarter pound) from 5 to 20 pounds ($8.35 to $33.40). Award winners, including four black teas, two green teas, and two white teas, are helpfully marked on the website.

For Those in the UK (or Visiting)

Mini Melton Mowbray Pork Pies: This winner is close to my heart because my husband Kenny really loves pork and, thus, would probably really love this pork pie. If he could taste it that is. Sadly, although Dickinson & Morris’s Pork Pies, winner in the Best Specialty from the East Midlands category, can be shipped online, they can only be sent to those who live in the mainland UK. Oh well.

Those in the UK or visiting the Leicestershire area, you might be interested to know that D & M holds demonstrations (free) and evening experiences (including your own hand-made pork pie) on hand raising a pork pie. What is hand raising? My guess is it has something to do with the process of making a pork pie (not cutting up the animal used to make the meat for the pie, as the term ‘hand raising’ might suggest). Apparently, the Melton Mowbray Pork Pies have quite a history and even their own association, The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association. Read here to see what makes these pork pies different from others.

*Prices are based on the pound-to-dollar conversion rate for September 11, 2009.

The Guild of Fine Food is “the UK trade association for anyone making or selling top quality local, regional, and specialty food and drink.” The Great Taste Awards are “the acknowledged benchmark for specialty food and drink”; receiving their three-star gold rating is quite an achievement independent find food producers.