Award Winning Chocolate - The Great Taste Awards 2021
The Little Welsh Chocolate Company is among the Great Taste winners of 2021
Milk Chocolate & Salted Caramel (The Crunchy One) and Milk Chocolate & Bara Brith Gin (special edition) by The Little Welsh Chocolate Company from Torfaen has been awarded a 1-star by Great Taste, the largest and most trusted food and drink awards on the planet. Out of 5,383 products worldwide to receive a Great Taste 1-, 2- or 3-star accolade on Tuesday 21 September, Milk Chocolate & Salted Caramel and special edition bar, Milk Chocolate & Bara Brith Gin will now be able to display the unmistakable black and gold logo, a stamp of excellence that is recognised by retailers and consumers alike.
Comments from the judges included; “Rich and glossy appearance with a clean snap. Creamy and smooth with delightful contrast of the crunchy toffee tasting sugar pieces and the bright little hits of mineral salt! Just as you think the chocolate is getting intensely sweet a pop of fizzing salt arrives to offer balance. Almost like popping candy for adults. The chocolate is sweet yet pleasantly so and delivers a really enjoyable flavour.”
“What a wonderful appearance and shine. The texture at the start has a good bite, and the centre is pleasingly soft and balances well with the chocolate. The chocolate quality is excellent, the ganache with organic cream, dried fruit and Bara Brith Gin has been very well balanced.”
The Salted Caramel bar is made with organic and fair-trade Belgian milk chocolate, organic caramelised sugar and Halen Mon’s Anglesey Sea Salt. The bars are made in small batches by hand in a small industrial unit in Cwmbran, South Wales, by an all-female team, headed up by Welsh chocolatier, Alison Pope.
The Bara Brith Gin bar features The Snowdonia Spirits Company’s fruity Bara Brith Gin; an ode to Welsh traditional tea bread. It came into creation when the company was asked to create a Welsh themed chocolate bar to feature on ITV’s Saturday Morning with James Martin to celebrate St David’s Day.
The Little Welsh Chocolate Company started life as a home business in 2017. It has steadily grown and has been featured several times on TV, endorsed by ITV’s chef James Martin
Alison Pope, the Company Director and Head Chocolatier explains: “We love showcasing other Welsh brands in our chocolate bars whenever we can. The wealth of quality ingredients made right here on our doorstep is wonderful and we wanted to celebrate that when we created our range of chocolate bars. This is our first time entering The Great Taste Awards, as our focus until now has been on growing the business and honing our craft. We only entered two bars from our range and were so excited when they both achieved a gold star!"
The Great Taste 1-star award-winning Salted Caramel and Bara Brith Gin bars are available from Delicatessens, Farm shops and Garden Centres around Wales and the surrounding counties, as well as online at: www.thelittlewelshchocolatecompany.com
September 2021
For more information:
Alison Pope
info@thelittlewelshchocolatecompany.com
www.thelittlewelshchocolatecompany.com
@littlewelshchoc
Great Taste press enquiries:
Amy Brice at Freshly Ground PR
+44 (0) 7717 893123
amy@freshlygroundpr.co.uk
Facts and figures about Great Taste 2021:
- Established in 1994, Great Taste is organised by the Guild of Fine Food and is the world’s largest, longest standing and most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers
- 14,113 different products were entered in 2021 from 108 countries
- 355 judges blind-tasted this year’s entries, including; Joanna Blythman, investigative journalist and food writer, cook, writer, stylist and voice of modern vegetarian cooking, Anna Jones, author, Olia Hercules, Kenny Tutt, MasterChef 2018 champion and restaurateur, food writer and cook, Xanthe Clay, presenter, author and tutor, Steven Lamb, baker and author, Martha Collison, and Kavi Thakrar from Dishoom, as well as food buyers from Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Partridges
- Socially distanced judging took place over 86 days at four venues including Guild HQ in Gillingham, Dorset and the Guild of Fine Food’s London home, No. 42 Southwark Street, SE1
- 4,027 awarded a Great Taste 1-star - A food that delivers fantastic flavour. Approximately 30% of entries will achieve this rating each year
- 1,138 awarded a Great Taste 2-star - Above and beyond delicious – less than 10% of entries will achieve this rating
- 218 awarded a Great Taste 3-star - Extraordinarily tasty foods – less than 2% of products are awarded a 3-star each year – don’t leave the shop without buying it!