The Artisan Kitchen’s Great Taste Awards Success in 2019

The Artisan Kitchen achieved remarkable success at the Great Taste Awards 2019, one of the most respected food and drink awards in the speciality food world.

Producers from more than one hundred countries entered 12,772 products that year. Against this strong field, sixteen Artisan Kitchen jams and marmalades received Great Taste Awards.

The results included seven one-star awards, five two-star awards and four coveted three-star awards. Each accolade recognised the flavour, careful cooking and small-batch craftsmanship at the heart of Sarah Churchill’s Gloucester preserve kitchen.

The awards year ended with an even greater honour when The Artisan Kitchen was named Small Artisan Producer of the Year 2019.

Great Taste Awards 2019 at a Glance

The Artisan Kitchen received sixteen Great Taste Awards in 2019, including four prestigious three-star awards.

The three-star winners were The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™, Tarocco Blood Orange Marmalade, Blood Orange Marmalade with Italian Orange Bitters and Seville Orange Marmalade Vino de Naranja. The Artisan Kitchen was subsequently named Small Artisan Producer of the Year.

Four Extraordinary Three-Star Preserves

Four Artisan Kitchen preserves achieved the rare three-star rating, the highest level of recognition within Great Taste. Judges reserve three stars for products with exceptional flavour, texture and balance.

The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™

The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ impressed the judges with its deep colour, rich fruit character and beautifully concentrated plum flavour.

Sarah Churchill makes the jam with rare Blaisdon Red plums grown in traditional Gloucestershire orchards. She created the preserve and has produced it commercially in The Artisan Kitchen’s Gloucester kitchen since 2013.

The 2019 three-star award recognised Sarah’s particular recipe and the flavour, balance and craftsmanship of The Artisan Kitchen’s own preserve.

Discover the fruit, the Gloucestershire provenance and the complete award record on Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™: History, Provenance and Awards.

Blood Orange Marmalade with Italian Orange Bitters

Blood Orange Marmalade with Italian Orange Bitters brings together vibrant blood oranges and the aromatic character of Italian bitters to create a bright, sophisticated citrus preserve.

Tarocco Blood Orange Marmalade

Tarocco Blood Orange Marmalade stood out for its vivid colour, fine peel and lively citrus flavour. Tarocco oranges are loved for their balance of sweetness, acidity and delicate red-fruit notes.

For a deeper look at these extraordinary citrus fruits, read our guide to the best blood orange varieties for marmalade.

Seville Orange Marmalade Vino de Naranja

Seville Orange Marmalade Vino de Naranja earned recognition for its layered orange notes and smooth finish. Spanish Vino de Naranja gives the marmalade a distinctive depth while keeping the character of the Seville oranges firmly at its centre.

A Golden Fork Nomination for Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™

Following its exceptional three-star result, The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ was nominated for a prestigious Golden Fork Award.

The nomination placed Sarah’s jam among the very best products to emerge from that year’s judging. It was further recognition for her own recipe and for a rare Gloucestershire fruit that had become one of The Artisan Kitchen’s defining preserves.

At the Golden Fork ceremony in London, The Artisan Kitchen received the separate and equally significant honour of Small Artisan Producer of the Year 2019.

Two distinct honours in one remarkable year

The three-star award and Golden Fork nomination belonged specifically to The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™. Small Artisan Producer of the Year recognised Sarah Churchill and the quality and consistency of The Artisan Kitchen’s wider collection.

A Remarkable Collection of Award-Winning Preserves

The judging panel also awarded five two-star honours. These included Gin & Orange Mimosa Marmalade, Bucks Fizz Marmalade and Espresso Martini Marmalade.

Further one-star awards recognised preserves including Blackcurrant Sloe Gin Jam, Sweet Orange Passion Fruit Marmalade and Cotswold Gin & Lemon Marmalade.

Together, the sixteen winning products demonstrated the breadth of Sarah’s preserving work—from fruit-led heritage jams to imaginative, carefully balanced citrus preserves.

Explore more award-winning jars in The Artisan Kitchen’s artisan jam collection and handcrafted marmalade collection.

Judged by Experts from Across the Food World

More than five hundred judges took part in the Great Taste Awards that year. The panels included chefs, buyers, critics and respected food writers.

Products were blind-tasted without visible branding or packaging. Judges concentrated on flavour, texture, aroma and balance, allowing small independent makers to compete on the quality of the food itself.

This rigorous process has helped make Great Taste one of the most trusted award schemes for artisan and speciality food producers.

Why Great Taste Matters

Great Taste has become one of the UK’s most established food and drink accreditation schemes. Its blind-tasting process keeps the focus on the food rather than the producer’s branding or packaging.

For a small artisan business, that makes the recognition especially meaningful. Each preserve must earn its result through flavour, texture, aroma and balance.

In 2019, only 208 products achieved the rare three-star rating. A further 1,326 received two stars and 3,409 earned one-star awards.

The judging panels included respected chefs and writers such as Melissa Hemsley, Kenny Tutt, Olia Hercules and Gill Meller.

The awards season concluded at the Golden Fork ceremony in London, where The Artisan Kitchen was named Small Artisan Producer of the Year.

Discover More Award-Winning Preserves

Begin with The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™, the rare Gloucestershire preserve that received three stars and a Golden Fork nomination in 2019.

Read the full story of the producer honour on The Artisan Kitchen Wins Small Artisan Producer of the Year 2019.

Explore the full collection in The Artisan Kitchen online shop, or visit the Awards page to discover more of Sarah’s Great Taste history.

For more citrus stories, marmalade guides and preserve-making insight, browse the All About Marmalade journal archive.

Written by Sarah Churchill

Sarah is the chef and founder of The Artisan Kitchen. She created The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ and has produced it commercially in Gloucester since 2013.