Great Taste in Italy (English translation)
Great Taste
Great Taste is the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme. In 2025, products made in Italy and entered by Italian companies will be judged in Italy, as part of the overall Great Taste 2025 accreditation scheme.
The Great Taste in Italy initiative aims to identify and celebrate the best Italian food and drink products, from cheese to cured meats, from pasta to honey, from beers to coffee, from spirits to chocolate (excluding wine).
Who is judging in Italy for
All entries that are produced in Italy and entered by Italian companies. Small producers are particularly encouraged to enter.
Great Taste in Italy is part of the overall Great Taste accreditation scheme and each product is judged on its own merits. Only quality is awarded and the blind-tasting process means that the jury will be unaware of the company’s details or any previous awards. This formula allows only truly excellent products to emerge as winners. Great Taste in Italy gives producers the opportunity to get the attention of buyers and consumers, encouraging more sales and brand awareness.
Judging in Italy will enable easier delivery for local entrants and allow for the involvement of Italian judges alongside members of the existing Great Taste expert panel.
Key dates for Italian entrants into Great Taste
13 January 2025
Entry open for Italian entrants (limited places available)
11 March 2025
Entry closes for Italian entrants
Last chance for entries (competition will close earlier if entry places are filled before the deadline)
May 2025
Judging in Italy
Taking place at a venue near to Bergamo (entrants will receive delivery instructions by email after entry has closed)
29 July 2025, 11am CEST
Entrant results and feedback
Results available to entrants in MyGuild
29 July 2025, 3pm CEST
Public results
Results available to all on www.greattasteawards.co.uk
5 September 2025 (tbc)
Great Taste in Italy celebration event
An tasting and celebration of the Italian 3-star winners and Golden Fork from Italy nominees, event taking place in Italy
9 September 2025
Great Taste Golden Forks awards ceremony & tasting, including the announcement of the Great Taste Golden Fork from Italy
Golden Forks & Supreme Champion announcement at a special event in London, United Kingdom
Great Taste Terms & Conditions
Please refer to notes on product eligibility in Term & Conditions before entering. Certain products including, but not limited to, fresh fruit and vegetables, vitamins and supplements, food aimed at children or babies, pre-stuffed whole poultry, baking or meal kits and any food to go/take away or delivered catered food are not eligible for Great Taste entry.
Great Taste Categories
REMEMBER! Products are judged on their own merit – they are not judged against others in the same category & every product entered is eligible for an award
One flavour = one entry
A product may only be entered in one category.
Please refer to notes on product eligibility in Term & Conditions before entering.
Quantity to send and how we taste
To help you prepare your entries and understand how each product is tasted, please refer to the two links below, which will guide you through the number of samples and process for each category of product that is judged in Great Taste.
Please refer to notes on product eligibility in Term & Conditions before entering.
Entry cost per product
Please refer to notes on product eligibility in Term & Conditions before entering.
| ALL ENTRANTS (ITALIAN ENTRY PERIOD: JANUARY – february 2025) | Cost per product |
|---|---|
| Small business (turnover less than €1.2m, equivalent to £1m) | £74 |
| Medium business (turnover between €1,2m-6.05m, equivalent to between £1-5m) | £116 |
| Large business (turnover more €6.05m, equivalent to more than £5m) | £161 |
| Supermarket (own label products) | £296 |
How to enter
Our entry system will take you through the steps to enter and you will be able to enter here from January:
If you would like more guidance with your entries, please follow the steps below:
Italian entrants can open from January 2025 and entry will close in March.
There are a limited amount of entry spaces available for Great Taste judging in Italy and places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. This may mean that the entry deadline is brought forward if all the entry spaces are allocated earlier, so early entry is recommended to avoid disappointment.
To enter:
- Please refer to notes on product eligibility in Term & Conditions before entering.
- Register as a user and a company on MyGuild. If a colleague has already registered your company with us, either through previous entries or one of our other activities, you will be able to request access to that company account through our system. Please follow the instructions via the Register link.
- Once you have registered, you will be able to add products and pay for your entries online. Please note entries are not confirmed until they are paid for.
- You will then receive delivery instructions via email. Please do not send products before you receive your delivery instructions. Note: Delivery instructions will be sent – May 2025 and you will have 2-3 weeks to send your product so please do not worry if you do not hear from us immediately.
- Please send your products as requested, noting the location that you are requested to send to; we have two judging locations so this may vary year to year. You can prepare by referring to our Quantities to send guidelines for further information.
- Check for your results and feedback on 29 July 2025.
Mallika Basu judging at Great Taste
Why take part
Great Taste was established in 2004 to celebrate the best of food and drink. In 2024, Great Taste’s 500-strong expert judging panel evaluated around 14,000 products from 115 countries.
Participating in Great Taste in Italy will allow Italian producers to be judged locally and give them the chance to:
- Receive feedback for each of their products
- Become part of an international community of producers, retailers, buyers, chefs and food lovers
- Use the Great Taste logo for any awarded products (from 1-star to 3-stars) for the following three years
- Have their product listed, together with the complete list of winners, on gff.co.uk
Judging process and awards
All entries will be judged individually by the Great Taste expert judging panel in a blind-tasting process. Professional feedback will be given for each product and every product will be giving a rating from “No award” to 3-stars.
Judges evaluate on taste. The Great Taste judging process offers objective feedback that helps participants identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Products are entered January to March and in May the judges will make their assessment, giving feedback and assigning the coveted stars where quality shines through.
In September, the very best of the best from each of the geographical areas of Italy will be celebrated at a special awards event in Italy and the Golden Fork from Italy will be awarded at the Great Taste Golden Forks held in London.
Help with the entry process
The entry form to register your product for Great Taste in Italy will be in Italian, but to access the entry form you will need to register on the Guild of Fine Food’s website. As this is the first year of running this initiative, this stage is currently in English. To help you go through the process, we have put together a guide (in Italian) to take you through the steps.
You can also contact us on [email protected] with any queries.