Award winning chocolate

The Raw Chocolate Company has received a Great Taste Award for its Vanoffe Dark Raw Chocolate Bar, which means it now has four Great Taste Award winning bars.

Judged by over 400 of the most demanding palates belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs, producers and a host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers. When a product wears a Great Taste label it carries a badge of honour but more importantly, the Great Taste logo is a signpost to a wonderful tasting product – hundreds of judges have worked tirelessly to discover the very best, through hours and hours of blind-tasting a total of 10,000 different foods and drinks.
“We’re so proud to have won another award from the Great Taste judges,” says owner Linus Gorpe, “To have four of the best chocolate bars in the UK, it’s just, well incredible! All we want to do is make great tasting and healthy, wonderful luxurious chocolate and goodies.
“Peter Jones on Dragons’ Den said it was the best chocolate that he had ever tasted on the show, and this award underlines that. Our Vanoffe Dark bar is the result of lots of experimentation to make the perfect chocolate bar – not too dark, not too light, just right. It is Fairtrade, Organic, gluten-free, soy-free and vegan too, so everyone can enjoy the Great Taste!”
The Great Taste Award judges said about the Vanoffe Dark Bar: “Characteristic raw cacao aromas, winey and fruity, but modified by the vanilla. A nicely glossy bar. A good melt with no grittiness, and well chosen aromatics. A good balance of elements cleverly collated.”
Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values taste above all else, with branding and packaging ignored. Whether it is cheese, ale, steak or chutney being judged, all products are removed from their wrapper, jar or bottle before being tasted. The judges then savour, confer and re-taste to decide which products are worthy of an award. There were 10,000 Great Taste entries this year. The panel of judges included Masterchef judge and restaurant critic Charles Campion, TV presenter and cook, Aggie Mackenzie, Great British Bake Off winner, Frances Quinn, Masterchef the Professionals finalist, Adam Handling, and food buyers from Harrods, Selfridges, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.