Great Taste Awards 2020

Brownings the Bakers is among the Great Taste winners of 2020

Great Taste, the world’s most trusted food and drink awards, has announced its stars of 2020. Out of 12,777 products sent in from 106 different countries, Brownings the Bakers was awarded a 2-star Great Taste award for our Cauliflower and Leek Pie, as well as our Soda Scones with buttermilk which means judges dubbed both products above and beyond delicious. We were also awarded 1-star for our Steak and Rabbie’s Porter Ale Pie which means judges dubbed it a food that delivers fantastic flavour.

Judges feedback:

Cauliflower and Leek Pie - A great looking pie with lots of filling and a golden pastry case and top. The filling was deliciously creamy and cheesy and had a great balance of cauliflower and leeks. A very tasty vegetarian pie.

Soda Scones with Buttermilk - A lovely handmade soda scone with a fantastic lightness and was not damp or stodgy in the middle. A lovely example.

Steak and Rabbie’s Porter Ale Pie - A beautiful golden pastry filled with tender beef and a smooth, rich gravy. A perfectly comforting pie.

Judged by 144 of the most discerning palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs, buyers, retailers and producers, as well as food writers and journalists, Great Taste is the most coveted of all food and drink awards. As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to an outstanding product, which has been discovered through hours and hours of blind tasting.

This year’s winners have been found through a combination of remote judging and socially distanced judging sessions, after the lockdown began just one week into the schedule. This necessitated a swift and comprehensive reinvention of the Great Taste process to ensure that robust judging standards were maintained and the quality of feedback was not compromised, all in time to provide a much-needed boost for food and drink producers during the all-important Christmas period.

Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values taste above all else, with no regard for branding and packaging. Whether it is cake, coffee, kippers or kombucha being judged, all products are removed from their wrapper, jar, box or bottle before being tasted. The judges then savour, confer and re-taste to decide which products are worthy of a 1-, 2- or 3-star award.

There were 12,777 entries into Great Taste this year and of those products, 205 have been awarded a 3-star, 1,294 received a 2-star and 3,818 were awarded a 1-star accolade. The panel of judges this year included; cook, writer and champion of sustainable food, Melissa Hemsley, cook, writer, stylist and voice of modern vegetarian cooking, Anna Jones, celebrated Spanish chef, José Pizarro, Kavi Thakrar from Dishoom, food writer and cook, Xanthe Clay, and baker and author, Martha Collison, as well as food buyers from Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose.