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Aberdeenshire has Great Taste


By David Porter

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Following 14 weeks of judging, the results of the world’s most trusted food and drink awards, Great Taste, have been released, with many producers in the north-east now celebrating.

Out of a record breaking 12,777 entries from 106 different countries, 42 per cent were awarded a highly prized Great Taste accolade and a remarkable 294 are based in Scotland.

The salted caramel ice cream produced by Mackie's of Scotland won in the Great Taste Awards.
The salted caramel ice cream produced by Mackie's of Scotland won in the Great Taste Awards.

Mackie's of Scotland, based near Rothienorman, was recognised for two of its products and received a one-star rating for its traditional real dairy ice cream and its salted caramel flavour.

Mackie's produces a wide range of ice cream, chocolate and crisps from its farm in Aberdeenshire.

Marketing director at Mackie’s of Scotland Karin Mackie said: “Having not one, but two of our products being recognised in the Great Taste Awards 2020 is a tremendous achievement.

"Salted caramel has proved to be our fastest growing ice cream with sales up 86 per cent on last year, so it is exciting to have it recognised with a Great Taste star.

“Once again we are pleased to see our traditional ice cream being commended by the Great Taste Awards.

"It remains our most popular ice cream.

“The success of traditional comes from the natural goodness of fresh milk and cream with no added flavourings, and that it is often described as a taste of childhood.

“The awards mean a lot to us because these awards are widely respected as being difficult to get – and therefore the achievement of one, two or three stars marks only products with real great taste.”

Rizza's dairy creamy vanilla ice cream was recognised in the awards.
Rizza's dairy creamy vanilla ice cream was recognised in the awards.

James Rizza and Sons ice cream maker in Huntly was also successful in the awards.

Its dairy creamy vanilla ice cream was given a one-star rating by the judges.

Rizza's offers a large range of ice creams in a variety of flavours.

Director Donald Morrison said: "We are over the moon with the one-star award.

"It follows on from our success last year when our double dairy luxury gold vanilla ice cream won a three-star award.

"Being recognised in the Great Taste Awards has allowed us to supply retailers like the Co-op.

"When people see that logo they know it's a product of value and that's the reason we entered again this year.

"Getting the one-star award is super and fingers crossed it opens up more opportunities for us."

Donald Russell's traditional porchetta roast received a two-star award.
Donald Russell's traditional porchetta roast received a two-star award.

Kintore butchers Donald Russell was presented with accolades for a number of its produce.

A two-star rating was awarded to its free-range traditional porchetta roast and its ribeye roast.

The firm was also presented with one-star ratings for its minced steak, dry aged tomahawk steak, French trimmed lamb rack, Lincolnshire sausages, porchetta shoulder steaks.

Donald Russell supplies a range of hand-butchered meat to hotels and restaurants across the UK and also offers a direct-to-consumer option through its website.

A spokesman for the butchers said: "We are thrilled to have been recognised in the Great Taste Awards.

"They are highly coveted and show a commitment to quality, presentation and flavour."

Picking up two awards was Alford's Piggery Smokery.

Their Grizzly Adams' Downfall – a maple and dark ale cured bacon - was awarded one star while two stars were awarded for their PepperBlack Finn – a Scottish pancetta infused with juniper and pepper.

Barra Bronzes, who sell free range turkeys, were recognised with two stars for their premium turkeys, and owner Craig Michie said: “It is great to be recognised by such a prestigious award.

“This is the fifth year we've won and really just proves that what we're offering truly is a premium product.

“We're really fortunate in that the pandemic has actually caused a rise in our sales for some reason, and we've experienced a 140 percent increase on this time last year which puts us in a really strong position.

“Now we're busy preparing for Christmas, and we've got orders coming in from people who are looking forward to premium local meat.”

Also delighted to be recognised by the 2020 awards are Forest Farm Organic Dairy from Blackburn who were successful with their honeycomb gelato.

Speaking about what the award means to the family run business, Angus Willis said: “It is great recognition of what we do, and it's always great to recognised especially when it's an award like this!

“Mostly it's really great for the team, for the family and for everybody else who works with us to get out products out there.”

Fraserburgh based Veg Oot picked up one star for their vegan honeycomb, which is gluten free and comes dipped in dark chocolate.

Singularity Sauce won for their Reaper and Blackberry sauce.
Singularity Sauce won for their Reaper and Blackberry sauce.

The results have provided a confidence boost for Tarves based Singularity Sauce's Mark McAulay, who took home two stars for his Reapers and Blackberries sauce.

He said: “It came as a bit of a surprise and I've had a big grin on my face ever since.

“It has really reaffirmed quite a lot of things for me.

“I had laboured over this sauce for a while, but this award lets me know that there are people out there who want it and that's a really good feeling.

“We have had a lot of support through online sales during the pandemic and we hope this will continue towards Christmas, although we can attend farmer's markets now and it's really great to be able to get out there and speak to customers about our products once again.

“This has given us the final push we needed in deciding that we're hopefully going to expand out of our home kitchen and into our own business premises next year.”

While these producers enjoy their success and begin displaying the unmistakable gold and black Great Taste logo, with 1-, 2- or 3- stars, on their award-winning products, they will wait with much anticipation to see if they also scoop the top awards for their region.

These final honours, including the Great Taste 2020 Supreme Champion, will be announced at the virtual Great Taste Golden Fork awards event, set to take place in October.

Details of this year’s winners can be found at www.greattasteawards.co.uk and a wide range of award winning products are available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retail outlets across the country.


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