Boost for Irish firms with UK taste awards
They had already been among the 125 producers awarded three stars, out of nearly 10,000 foods and drinks entered in the annual UK Great Taste awards.
Now, they are among the 50 favourites in the betting to win Supreme Championship and Golden Fork awards at the Royal Garden Hotel, London, next Monday night.
An Irish Great Taste Supreme Championship two-in-a-row is their aim.
Hannan Meats, Moira, Co Down, was last year’s winner, and the company has a good two-in-a-row chance, with five products in the top 50, which is a new Great Taste record.
Their Seasoned Fiorentina T-bone is described by Great Taste judges as “a monster of a steak”. Hannan’s Salt-aged Euro Angus sirloin has “a good layer of fat and lovely colour, really appealing. Superb, full flavour that keeps going in the mouth. Succulent, moist and outstanding”, said judges
Salt-aged Euro Angus cote de boeuf spends at least 28 days ageing in the Hannan Meats Himalayan salt chamber. Great Taste experts branded it “a beautiful piece of meat”.
Hannan’s recently constructed dry-aging chamber has a 12-foot high solid wall of hand-cut Himalayan rock salt bricks, and their Salt-aged Glenarm Shorthorn beef and Salt-aged Euro Angus Fiorentina T-bone are also in the Great Taste top 50.
The latter is said to be “tasty with exceptional fat, nutty, almost like marrow”. One judge said: “It’s difficult to imagine how a steak could get any better.”
A Co Cork drinks company has also attracted the attention of the main food buyers from Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Whole Foods Market, who had the task of re-judging all three-star award winners, for the top 50 and overall prizes.
The company is Stonewell Cider at Nohoval, near Kinsale, and their dry cider and medium dry cider are both in the Great Taste top 50.
Judges said their dry cider is made with Dabinett and Michelin apples, sorted manually, milled, pressed and fermented separately.
They said it was “impressive and sophisticated with a prosecco-like effervescence”. They said the medium dry cider, from Dabinett, Michelin, Elstar, Jonagored and Falstaff apples is “light, refreshing, well balanced and delicious”.
Winning the Great Taste Supreme Championship is a life-changing result for the successful producer, according to John Farrand of the Guild of Fine Food, which runs the awards — and another Co Cork winner can dream, ahead of the Monday results.
Healys Honey of Ballincollig produces Kilcree Gold organic honey for Aldi Stores Ireland.
Judges were impressed by this certified 100% organic honey’s “gorgeous amber colour and lovely caramel aroma”, and “a lovely length of flavour that sings in the mouth”.
Also in the Great Taste top 50 is the Burren Smokehouse of Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, with their traditionally oak smoked organic salmon, marinated in seaweed, and hailed by judges as a stroke of genius.
They bid to follow the Great Taste supreme championship win in 2006 for a smoked wild salmon from Woodcock Smokery in Castletownshend, Co Cork.
Corleggy Cheese in Co Cavan has made it into the top 50 with its port jelly cheeseboard accompaniment.
Completing the island of Ireland’s impressive one in four in the top 50 are three Northern Ireland companies.
En Place Foods of Co Tyrone has two products in the top 50 — caramel sauce with added Irish sea salt and hand-picked fennel pollen (“a riot of flavours in remarkable balance,” said judges), and sea buckthorn berry and lime jam (“wonderful freshness and good balance of sweetness and sharpness”).
Supreme champions in 2011 with their corned beef, McCartneys of Moira, Co Down, are in the top 50 again with their mushroom, leek and smoked garlic tart.
And from Belfast, the Ewing Seafoods fishmonger is in there with pale smoked cod, prepared and smoked to a 100-year-old family recipe.
“A stunning piece of smoked cod,” said judges.
