17 January 2020 | Guild of Fine Food Members' FortnightOpen for entry. Ensure that your Guild membership runs until at least 31 January 2020. New Guild Memberships must be in place by Friday 10 January 2020. You cannot join the Guild of Fine Food in Members' Fortnight. |
31 January 2020 | Guild of Fine Food Members' FortnightCloses for entry |
3 February 2020 | General EntryOpen for entry |
17 February 2020 | General EntryCloses for entry (or earlier if entry cap is reached) |
3 August 2020 | Results and feedbackResults and feedback of all entries available to view online |
Entry Information | Terms & Conditions | Category List | Product Journey | Quantity Information
The entry information documents are also available to download in these languages:
N.B. 2020 information documents below will be uploaded just ahead of the open for entry date.
French Entry Information | Terms & Conditions | Category List | Product Journey | Quantity Information
Greek Entry Information | Terms & Conditions | Category List | Product Journey | Quantity Information
Italian Entry Information | Terms & Conditions | Category List | Product Journey | Quantity Information
Portuguese Entry Information | Terms & Conditions | Category List | Product Journey | Quantity Information
Spanish Entry Information | Terms & Conditions | Category List | Product Journey | Quantity Information
Entry is completed via your company’s MyGuild account. The link for the Great Taste 2020 entry form will be available in your MyGuild account while entry is open. If your company does not have a MyGuild account please see the FAQs section for further information.
Entrants: Delivery instructions will be made available from March – June. You will receive an email when your delivery instructions are available to download from your MyGuild account. Please do not send any products until you receive your delivery instructions.
Judging will take place in Dorset and London. Please note that although we cannot guarantee at which venue a product will be judged we will do our best to accommodate any special requests where operationally feasible.
A one, two or three-star accreditation means your food will stand out on the overcrowded retail shelves. Coupled with the extensive consumer and trade promotion by the Guild of Fine Food it will lead to increased sales and brand awareness.
Quite simply Great Taste encourages greater confidence and commercial success in small businesses locally, regionally, nationally and internationally whilst helping to improve the food and drink of those who don’t quite make the grade.
“Our Great Taste stars have transformed our business, and we’re so grateful to you.”
Mount Mayon Pili Nuts
Please ensure that you read through the guidance documents in the How to enter section above before you submit your entries. Below we have provided some answers to frequently asked questions about entering Great Taste:
Entering Great Taste 2020
The following information is for reference only.
How do I enter Great Taste 2020?
All entries are made via your company’s online MyGuild account. Once Great Taste opens for entry a link to the 2020 entry form will become available in your MyGuild account – please see the Key Dates section above for entry dates for Great Taste 2020. The entry form is a series of questions about each of the products you wish to enter into Great Taste. There will be a link at the end of the entry form to make payment for your entries via Sage Pay.
What is MyGuild?
MyGuild is your company’s online account, through which you enter Great Taste. To login to MyGuild you will need a user account (an email address and password). The MyGuild account contains your Company Profile, where you provide contact details and further information about the company, and links to your company’s previous entries to Great Taste, including results and judging feedback.
If your company does not already have a MyGuild account: You will need to create a user account (email address and password) and then the Company Profile Create a MyGuild account.
If your company already has an existing MyGuild account and Company Profile: We can link up multiple user accounts to this MyGuild account. To create a new user account click here Create user account and enter your email address and a password. You will receive an email with a link to verify your email address – please click the link, login and enter your name then logout without creating a new company profile and send an email to myguild@gff.co.uk to advise the company name, previous contact there and your email address, and we will link up your user account to the existing company account.
How can I make sure I receive reminders about entering Great Taste next year?
Please fill in the contact form in the Mailing List section below. We will add you to our mailing list, so that you will receive reminders about Great Taste. Ensure you add our domain gff.co.uk to your safe senders list, to help our emails to reach you.
Login Issues
My colleague entered Great Taste last year but has now left the company, so I can’t login to our MyGuild account. Please help!
To access your MyGuild, the online portal, you need a user account (email address and password) and a Company Profile. If there is already an existing Company Profile for your company we can link up multiple user accounts to this Profile. To create a new user account click here Create user account and enter your email address and a password. You will receive an email with a link to verify your email address – please click the link, login and enter your name then logout without creating a new company profile and send an email to myguild@gff.co.uk to advise the company name, previous contact there and your email address, and we will link up your user account to the existing company account.
I have a user account for MyGuild but can’t remember my password. What do I do?
If you already have a user account for MyGuild it will recognise your email address and prompt you for a password. If you cannot remember your password, enter your email address, click Next, then click Trouble Logging In and follow the onscreen prompts.
I’ve tried to re-set the password for my user account, but I have not received the email. What do I do?
The email, which is sent from noreply@gff.co.uk, contains a link to click on and re-set the password. Please ensure that the domain gff.co.uk is added to your safe senders list. Check that the email has not been sent to your Spam or Junk Mail folder. If the email is not there, please contact the team on myguild@gff.co.uk and we will be able to help you.
Great Taste 2020 Categories & Entry Form information
I can’t find a category for my product, what should I do?
Is there a category that nearly fits? If so, please use that one. The categories are more for our use – to help us plan each judging week and judging session. Your product is judged on its own merits, not against a category or any other products in that category. You can use the Product Description field to explain what your product is. However, please check that your product is not on the list of items that we cannot judge and please remember that one flavour = one entry, so we cannot accept entries of selection boxes or multi-packs.
What is Members’ Fortnight?
Great Taste is run by the Guild of Fine Food, a trade association. The Guild has a membership for fine food and drink producers and independent retailers. One of the benefits of membership is early and discounted entry into Great Taste. For Great Taste 2020 new membership applications needed to have been received and processed by Friday 10 January 2020 to qualify for Great Taste 2020’s Members’ Fortnight and current members must have had a valid membership running up until 31 January 2020 to qualify. However, there are lots of other benefits to Guild membership and you can find out more here Join the Guild
I entered Great Taste last year. Does this mean I am now a member so can enter during Members’ Fortnight?
Membership and Great Taste are two separate things (please see the explanation under ‘What is Members’ Fortnight’) so you are not automatically a member of the Guild of Fine Food if you have previously entered Great Taste. You do not need to be a member to enter Great Taste, but only current members can enter during Members’ Fortnight. Great Taste 2020 General Entry opens from Monday 3 February 2020.
What do I write in the Product Description field?
All products are blind-tasted so the judges won’t see company names, product names or the product packaging. The Product Description field is your chance to tell the judges about your product. Use it to explain the key facts about your product, without using brand names or marketing speak. For example, main ingredients, traditional production methods, breed of animal, if the product is gluten-free. If the product is not typical of its type, you may choose to explain this here. There are only 150 characters available (including spaces and punctuation) so keep it concise. You don’t need to write in full sentences, as long as it makes sense to the reader. A video, explaining the entry process and how to write your product description, can be found in the section above.
Do I include cooking instructions in the Product Description field?
Entrants entering products that require cooking, re-heating or preparing in some form before judging must complete Kitchen instructions, which will form a part of the entry details for each product. Entrants will have the opportunity to access and edit the Kitchen instructions via their MyGuild account up until the day before their scheduled delivery date, as long as they have ticked the box at the time of entry to confirm that cooking or reheating is required.
I entered a product into Great Taste last year. Can I re-enter it this year?
Yes, you can re-enter the same product into Great Taste each year if you wish to do so.
Which products are not eligible for entry to Great Taste 2020?
The category list and T&Cs will give guidance on the types of products that we can accept for entry. However, please note that unfortunately we are unable to accept the following for judging at Great Taste 2020:
If you are unsure if your product can be entered in to Great Taste please contact the Great Taste team.
Deliveries of entries
I’ve entered Great Taste online and received my receipt. Do I send my products now?
Not yet! Once we close for entry we will begin issuing delivery instructions from around mid-March and these will continue until early June. We may ask you to deliver your products at any time between those months, and will give you at least 2 weeks’ notice ahead of your delivery date. We send an email to the contact email address you provided when you entered Great Taste to let you know when your delivery instructions are ready to download from the portal. You will be asked to send your products to one of our judging venues, which are in Dorset and London. Please note that although we cannot guarantee at which venue a product will be judged we will do our best to accommodate any special requests where operationally feasible.
How much product should I send?
Please refer to the Quantity Information document in the ‘How to enter’ section. As a general guideline we ask for around 25-30 mouthfuls/teaspoonfuls of a product for the judging.
Great Taste 2020 Results & Feedback
How will I know when the feedback and results are available for my products?
The results and feedback from Great Taste 2020 will be released on Monday 3 August 2020. Entrants will receive an email to advise as soon as the information is live and available to view through their MyGuild account.
There are over 70 days of Great Taste judging each year in two different locations – Guild House, Gillingham, Dorset and No. 42 Southwark Street, London. The process is exactly the same in both. A dedicated and trained team of 550 judges give up their time to evaluate the 13,000 products entered over this period.
All products are fastidiously blind-tasted. When you enter Great Taste you will be given a unique entry reference number for each product. This stays with that product throughout the judging process. The judges are looking for truly great taste, regardless of branding or packing.
Judging takes place from March until mid-June. You will receive an email when your delivery instructions are ready to download from your MyGuild account. We aim to give you 2-weeks’ notice and goods-in day is normally a Friday.
On arrival at the judging location, your product is logged and check-in by our trained goods-in team. Once received, your MyGuild account status will change to ‘Delivered’.
At least 6 individuals will taste your product in small teams of 3-4 per table. The judges usually taste 20-24 products per session from different categories. They never have more than 2 products from the same category. This means that every single product is judged on its own merit. This is not a first past the post contest. Every product entered could be awarded a star or more.
After discussions and consensus, the coordinator captures the feedback. At least two teams of judges must concur whether stars are awarded or not.
All the results are released in August, once all products have been judged and the feedback checked and prepared for publication. This creates maximum PR exposure and the Guild of Fine Food will help you to maximise your award.
In September the top regional and special awards – The Golden Fork Awards, are announced at a dinner at the Intercontinental Park Lane Hotel, London.
“The bottom line about these awards is – does it taste delicious? If it does taste delicious, then we will put it on a pedestal.”
Lucas Hollweg, food writer & cook
You can hear the thoughts of our Great Taste 2019 final panel on last year’s big winner. A gelato and definitely not an ice cream…
The Golden Fork winners from the Great Taste awards dinner on 1 September 2019.
You can search for all Great Taste 2019 winners here
See who won the Golden Forks here
Great Taste 2019 Entrants: please login to your MyGuild account to view your feedback and results Access MyGuild . For help with logging in, please see our FAQs section, email myguild@gff.co.uk or call +44 (0)1747 825200 option 4 during working hours.
Ordering Labels & Digital Logos
If you have achieved awards for your products in the last three years (2019, 2018 or 2017) you can order labels or the electronic award artwork to display on your product’s packaging. You can also order Great Taste branded bunting and aprons.
Download a copy of the current Logo Brand Guidelines here for information on how the Great Taste labels and logo artwork can be used.
Labels
The Guild of Fine Food buys award labels in bulk to ensure these labels are an inexpensive way to increase sales. You can also buy Great Taste bunting and aprons to ensure visitors to shows, markets or your shop know you are selling Great Taste accredited food and drink.
Download the Great Taste Label & POS order form here.
**Please remember to download this form and save a copy to your computer first before completing it, saving it and returning it to us. You can return the form by email, post or fax and the details are on the form.**
If you would like your labels sent to Ireland, EU or rest of world please refer to this label P&P cost matrix to complete your order form.
Great Taste branded aprons
Great Taste aprons are designed to work hard and wash well. 
65% polyester and 35% cotton twill. The essential bib apron is classic black with sliding adjustable buckles with wording “Ask me about Great Taste” and a pocket to front. One size fits all. Self fabric waist ties.
Great Taste bunting
Made of high quality PVC which is weatherproof and spillage r
esistant the bunting can form part of retail displays or help add some colour and recognition at consumer shows. 7ft/2.14m length of triangular pennants printed both sides.
Logo artwork (electronic format)
Award logo artwork in digital format (1-star, 2-star & 3-star)
You can request the relevant 1-star, 2-star & 3-star award logo(s) as digital artwork to incorporate into your own packaging designs, to use on your website and in marketing materials.
Download the Logo Artwork Request form here.
**Please remember to download this form and save a copy to your computer first before completing it, saving it and returning it to us. You can return the form by email, post or fax and the details are on the form.**
Please note that a charge may be applicable for the Logo Artwork, depending on the company turnover as stated on entry to the awards.
Great Taste Producer/ Retailer logo artwork in digital format
If your company has achieved Great Taste awards in at least three years out the last five years, or your deli or farm shop sells a range of Great Taste award-winning products long-term, you can apply for the electronic version of either the Great Taste Producer or Great Taste Retailer logo artwork. Please note these are not for use on products. Please complete and return the form below:
Great Taste Producer/Retailer logo order form
**Please note: All label and logo orders are processed in order of receipt. If payment is applicable, orders cannot be dispatched until payment is received. When completing any of the forms please ensure you download and save a copy first before filling in the details, saving and returning to us. Label and logo usage is subject to the most current version of the Great Taste Logo Brand Guidelines**
Award Certificates
A printed copy of the certificate(s) for your award-winning product(s) will be posted to you in mid-late August. Once this has arrived there will be guidance provided on how to request a PDF copy of the certificate(s) for your records.
Great Taste Book 2019
We print over 250,000 copies of this essential guide to the big winners for consumers, retailers and food service buyers. We print over 250,000 copies of this essential guide to the big winners for consumers, retailers and food service buyers. Find out more about the Great Taste Book 2019 here
I always keep my copy of the Great Taste Book with me …. it is like a ‘little black book’ reminder of all the Great Taste Winners. I’d be lost without it.”
Emma Murphy
Commercial & Innovation Director
Sourced Market
“The Great Taste book is a bible of artisan and premium quality products which help us source new and innovative brands for our world famous Food Hall.”
Adrian Boswell
Buyer
Selfridges & Co
Press Release Template for Great Taste 2019 award-winners
Make the most of your award with this Press Release Template to personalise and send to local and national press. The press release contains the vital statistics for this year’s awards and provides background detail about Great Taste. Download the template here .
Great Taste Markets
Featuring award-winning food and drink producers from Great Taste, the Guild of Fine Food offers preferential rates to Great Taste winners to exhibit at the shows below as part of a Great Taste Market. Find out more here
Fine Food Show North 2020
Many a new or undiscovered Great Taste winner exhibits at the Fine Food Show North. This cost-effective and accessible event means you are guaranteed to meet quality visitors and buyers without the cost associated with larger exhibitions. Visitors include genuine retailers or food-service operators looking to source fine food and drink and discover new ideas and ingredients. Click here to read more
Download the Great Taste national & regional press releases. For further press enquiries contact Amy Brice or Tortie Farrand or visit our Press Room.
Press Release Template for Great Taste 2019 award-winners
Make the most of your award with this Press Release Template to personalise and send to local and national press. The press release contains the vital statistics for this year’s awards and provides background detail about Great Taste. Download the template here .
What is Great Taste? | History of Great Taste
You can search for all Great Taste winners from the last seven years here
Interested in supporting or sponsoring Great Taste? Click here.
Would you like to be added to our Great Taste mailing list?
If so, please complete the form below with your full company details and we will add you to our database to receive information from the Guild of Fine Food and reminders and updates for next year. This form is only to register your interest in entering Great Taste and to be added to our mailing list.
