South Cumbria producers win esteemed Great Taste Award

The Great Taste Awards claim to be the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme, dubbed the' Oscars of food and drink'.

This year's competition saw nearly 3,500 companies from 115 countries submitting a total of 13,672 products for review. The UK alone entered 8,008 products from 2,528 companies.

The entries were blind-tasted by a panel of over 500 experts, including food critics, chefs, buyers, and other specialists, who provided detailed feedback over 92 judging days.

Below is the full list of South Cumbria products, who produced them and what rating they were given in the 2024 Great Taste Awards:

Three stars

• True North Coffee Roasters (Staveley) - Guava banana

Two stars

• Appleby Creamery - Grilling Cheese
• Shed 1 Distillery Ulverston Ltd - Festive Tipple Marmalade
• Legendary Sauce Co. (Ulverston) - Lemon & Herb Amarillo Chilli Sauce
• Ginger Bakers (Kendal) - Westmorland Pepper Cake
• Wagtail Kitchen Ltd (Kendal) - Steak & Kidney Pie
• My Gourmet Mushrooms Ltd (Kendal) - Spicy Mushroom Curry Pickle
• RHIC Ltd (Ravenglass) - Salted Liquorice
• John Farrer & Co (Kendal) Ltd. t/a Farrer's Tea & Coffee - Colombia La Cabana Coffee

One star

• Northern Pasta Company (Kendal) - #5 Gigli
• John Farrer & Co (Kendal) Ltd. t/a Farrer's Tea & Coffee - Burundi Kibingo Natural Coffee
• Ginger Bakers (Kendal) - Brandy & Orange Mince Pie
• Roast Mutton (Kendal) - Marmalade Sausage
• Kin Vodka (Trolle Trading Ltd) (Ulverston) - Kin Toffee Apple Vodka
• True North Coffee Roasters (Staveley) - KENYA KARATINA
• True North Coffee Roasters (Staveley) - Geisha Spirits
• True North Coffee Roasters (Staveley) - fazenda passeio
• John Farrer & Co (Kendal) Ltd. t/a Farrer's Tea & Coffee - Ethiopia Haru Washed Coffee
• Appleby Creamery - Eden Smokie
• Roast Mutton (Kendal) - Cumberland Sausage
• Ginger Bakers (Kendal) - Chocolate and Chestnut Tray Cake with Smoked Sea Salt
• Shed 1 Distillery Ulverston Ltd - Quince Vodka
• Rinaldo's Speciality Coffee & Tea Ltd (Kendal) - Rinaldo's Burundi - Single Origin - Coffee
• Rinaldo's Speciality Coffee & Tea Ltd (Kendal) - Rinaldo's Chameleon Espresso Blend
• More? The Artisan Bakery (Kendal) - Super seedy sourdough toasting loaf
• Hawkshead Relish Company - Sticky Toffee Waffle Sauce
• Wagtail Kitchen Ltd (Kendal) - Steak & Mushroom Pie
• SippingFox The Lake District Drinks Company (Ulverston) - SippingFox Straight Up Bergamot Edition Gin
• SippingFox The Lake District Drinks Company (Ulverston) - SippingFox Cinder Toffee Rum

Robert Unwin, founder of Roast Mutton said: ''It’s great to be recognised in this way. We set out to craft good quality sausages using only the very best local sustainably reared pork, and the judges have recognised what we are trying to do and we’re all totally chuffed with the comments we’ve received.

"We want to say a huge thank you to all of our brilliant customers and members of the public who’ve supported us as we’ve tweaked our recipes and done our very best to get things right. These two awards are fabulous, but we know that we’ve got more to learn as we continue to develop our range of sausages and to deliver what our customers want and expect from us.’’  

Che Oxenham, Farrer’s Production Manager and Head Roaster, said: “We take great care in sourcing our artisan single-origin coffee. Buying specifically from small growers and farmers around the world. Individuals who share our ethos – taking great care in nurturing the crops they grow, using sustainable growing techniques, whilst also putting back into their local communities, creating jobs and educational opportunities to enable farmers to earn a real wage in their communities.

"Farrer’s has been sourcing and roasting quality coffee for over 200 years and we all work incredibly hard to ensure that we continue to deliver. Receiving three new Great Taste awards in the shape of 1 two-star award and 2 one-star awards demonstrates what we are about and the fact that we take pride in creating products for people to enjoy.’’