A cut above the rest - the finest food and drink from Hampshire has been internationally recognised in the Great Taste Awards 2020.

Making the county proud are 97 business who have won a spot on the coveted Great Taste 2020 list and can now display the iconic black and gold rosette. 

Following 14 weeks of judging, the results of the world’s most trusted food and drink awards, Great Taste, have been announced with winners from the town. 

Blind tasted by 144 judges, the award is not only a badge of honour but a signpost to an outstanding product. 

Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values delicious taste above all else, with no regard for branding and packaging. 

There were 12,777 entries into Great Taste this year from 106 countries.  Of those products, 205 have been awarded a 3-star, 1,294 received a 2-star and 3,818 were awarded a 1-star accolade. 

Amongst the winners is Crane Patisserie who have been awarded one-star for their French pear tatin inspired Pear and anise chocolate bon bon. 

Basingstoke Gazette:

Owner, Greg Olejark has worked in 5-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK and throughout the rest of Europe. He has worked with chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White and Heston Blumenthal.

Mr Olejark said: "We produce everything in Hampshire and try and use as much local produce as possible.

"Winning the awards is massive recognition and it brings a drastic change to our six month old business."

The prestigious and well-known butchers Owton's was also in receipt of an award, winning two-stars for their pork, cheese and marmite sausages. 

The general manager of Owton's in Southampton, John Harding, said: "Owtons are immensely proud of this year results for our products entered into the Great Taste Awards.

"All of the four products that we entered achieved an award with our new creation of Pork, Cheese & Marmite sausages achieving 2 Gold Stars."

With the pride of Hampshire at its heart, Butler Country Estates has also been awarded one Great Taste star for its 'Hampshire Smoked Trout Pate'. 

Basingstoke Gazette:

Butler Country Estates owner Richard Butler at his food stall in Winchester.

Based in Winchester, near the Test River, Butler Country Estates smokes all of their produce in-house at their smokery.

Owner, Richard Butler, said:

"Winning the Great Taste star makes all the hard work and late nights worth it.

"We will continue to dedicate ourselves to making the best pate we can using rainbow trout caught here in Hampshire."

This year’s winners have been found through a combination of remote judging and socially distanced judging sessions, after the lockdown began just one week into the schedule.

As a result, the Great Taste judging process was reinvented to maintain a robust judging standard that did not compromise the quality of feedback to participants. 

Released in September the awards have come as a much needed boost to the food and drinks industry pre-Christmas. 

Search through all of the Hampshire winners in the table below:

Will you be trying any of these Hampshire products? Let us know in the comments.