Best food and drink products from Dorset

Following 14 weeks of judging, the results of the world’s most trusted food and drink awards, Great Taste, have been announced with winners from the town. 

Blind tasted by 144 judges, the iconic black and gold label is not only a badge of honour but a signpost to an outstanding product. 

Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values delicious taste above all else, with no regard for branding and packaging. 

There were 12,777 entries into Great Taste this year from 106 countries.  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. 

Dorset proudly produced 65 winners, including four producers being awarded the coveted three-stars.

Previous winners of the Great Taste Awards, Capreolus Fine Foods have won even more acclaim this year with two of their products receiving three-stars, of which only 205 were internationally awarded. 

Both the pancetta and smoked pancetta have been awarded three-stars by Great Taste.

David Richards, owner of Capreolus Fine Foods said: "We're thrilled because this means six of our products currently have three-stars, and that's 17 out of 21 products that have Great Taste stars." 

The multi-award winning family business  is based in Rampisham in West Dorset and produces artisan charcuterie . 

They source locally bred and reared free range meat from traditional and rare  breeds wherever possible and seasonal wild meats from the West Country.

Mr Richards said: "We are very careful about using the very best meat and raw materials, we buy whole spices and grind them ourselves.

"It's about honouring the animal, you must never forget that you are using an animal that was alive and this isn't just pork, this is something really special." 

Since lockdown Capreolus Fine Foods has gone from mainly supplying restaurants and the hospitality industry to focusing on the retail sector.

As a result, The Great Taste accolade "helps massively" to ensure people know the quality of the product and come back "time and time again".

Among the winners are Bournemouth Distillery who have been award one-star for their BH1 Gin. 

With a combined 35 years’ experience in the food and drinks industry, bartenders Lewis Spendlove and Przemek Seczkowski felt a "burning desire" to create their own gin. 

Knowing that they had to be unique against a fearsome competition of more than 600 gins in the UK alone, the pair looked for inspiration locally.  

They hand foraged through the Bournemouth coastline for their secret ingredient of wild chamomile. 

Mr Spendlove said: "It feels absolutely amazing for all  of our hard work  to be recognised by such a prestigious awarding body.

"Our dreams are truly coming true."

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.

As a result, the Great Taste judging process was reinvented to maintain a robust judging standard that did not compromise the quality of feedback to participants. 

Released in September the awards have come as a much needed boost to the food and drinks industry pre-Christmas. 

Search through all of the Dorset winners in the table below:

Which of these Dorset products will you be trying? Let us know in the comments.