RESULTS are in for the Great Taste Awards 2017 and producers from Wrecclesham, Seale and Crondall are toasting a tasty success.

Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, the Great Taste Awards are recognised as a benchmark for fine food and drink. Described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world, the Great Taste logo has become a sign that many trust when buying food and drink.

Months of assessment goes into finding the award-winning products with more than 500 judges involved in 62 judging days held from March to July across the UK.

The Cold Pressed Oil Company Ltd at Clare Park Farm, in Crondall received two stars for its Pure Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil, while Liz Usher from mummy makes…fudge! in Wrecclesham received one star for her Chocolate Fudge Tablet. The a2 Milk Company™ Ltd in Seale also received one star for its a2 Milk™: Whole milk.

At the Cold Pressed Oil Company, childhood friends and business partners, William Burrett and Charlie Gardner pride themselves in producing the finest quality award winning rapeseed oil.

The seed is harvested in late July and is then cleaned, dried and bagged. The duo bring the seed up to the press as and when required, ensuring that the oil is as fresh as possible.

The oil is then filtered, which is a key moment in the production. It is only after this point that the oil shows its golden colour.

The final product is then ready to be bottled up and dispatched to various outlets.

“The whole ethos of our business is trying to work with everything local, we work with the local farmers and buy our seed from 50 yards away,” said Charlie.

“We know all of our customers on a personal basis, we are friends more than suppliers. We got a one star in 2014, which was brilliant, and this year we have got two gold stars, it makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

This is Liz’s (from mummy makes…fudge!) fifth star in five years, all for different flavours. “It’s really quite interesting to be up against the big boys and find out where you stand on a taste basis.

“It’s nice to get that recognition, it means you’re going the right way.”

It all started when Liz’s children were at St Polycarp’s School and were given a fundraising challenge to turn £15 into £60 for the school.

“Dot came home and we made the fudge, she took it in and she sold it. We made some more with the profits and just carried on – in three months we’d made £1,200 for the school,” continued Liz.

“I was a freelance graphic designer at the time, and I thought if that’s what you can do when you’re not really trying, I wonder what happens when you do really try.

“And then I was on that programme Inspire Living’s Cook to Market, that was the next thing in 2012, and from then I rented the little kitchen down at Farnham Pottery in Wrecclesham, and we’re still there now.”