Seven Golden Fork Awards: A Chef’s Journey to Britain’s Most Awarded Preserves
Seven Golden Fork Awards: A Chef’s Journey to Britain’s Most Awarded Preserves
The Artisan Kitchen has been recognised with seven Golden Fork Awards at the Great Taste Awards, one of the highest honours in British food. For a small, chef-led preserve kitchen in Gloucestershire, this reflects more than one exceptional jar. It shows years of consistency, precision and flavour-led craft.
Golden Fork Awards Summary
The Artisan Kitchen has received seven Golden Fork honours at the Great Taste Awards.
These include Golden Fork for the South West wins for The Artisan Kitchen’s Tropical Marmalade in 2021 and The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ in 2022, alongside Small Artisan Producer of the Year recognition and Ambient Product of the Year for The Artisan Kitchen’s Seville Orange Marmalade.
The Artisan Kitchen was founded by chef Sarah Churchill and is based in Gloucestershire.
Awards are never the reason I make preserves, but they do tell a story. They show what can happen when exceptional fruit, careful cooking and a chef’s approach to flavour come together over time.
Before founding The Artisan Kitchen, I trained and worked as a professional chef in leading kitchens, including The Square in Mayfair under Philip Howard. That background shaped how I think about balance, texture, finish and restraint. It still influences every batch I make today.
You can explore the full list of The Artisan Kitchen awards, including Great Taste Awards, Golden Fork Awards and World Marmalade Awards recognition. This long-standing record sits behind many of our most celebrated preserves, including The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™, Tropical Marmalade and Seville Orange Marmalade.
Quick Answer: How Many Golden Fork Awards Has The Artisan Kitchen Won?
The Artisan Kitchen has received seven Golden Fork honours at the Great Taste Awards. These include Small Artisan Producer of the Year recognition, regional Golden Fork awards for The Artisan Kitchen’s Tropical Marmalade and Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™, and major product recognition for The Artisan Kitchen’s Seville Orange Marmalade.
What Is a Golden Fork Award?
Golden Forks are part of the Great Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food. The official Great Taste Golden Forks page describes the ceremony as a celebration of the best food and drink products from around the world.
The Great Taste Awards are judged through blind tasting by panels of chefs, buyers, food writers and industry experts. Products are assessed on flavour, texture, balance, aroma and overall eating quality, without branding or packaging influencing the result.
The highest-scoring products can receive three stars. From those, a much smaller group is selected for further judging, and the very best are awarded Golden Forks. These awards recognise products and producers that stand out at the highest level of the competition.
Why Are Golden Fork Awards Important?
Golden Fork Awards are important because they are selected from the highest-performing Great Taste Award entries. They recognise products and producers that stand out after blind tasting and further judging, making them one of the most respected honours in British food.
Winning one Golden Fork is rare. Receiving seven Golden Fork honours over the years is a mark of consistency, not luck.
Who Is Sarah Churchill?
Sarah Churchill is the chef and founder of The Artisan Kitchen, an award-winning preserve producer based in Gloucestershire. Before founding the business, she trained and worked in professional kitchens, including The Square in Mayfair under Philip Howard.
The Seven Golden Fork Awards
The Artisan Kitchen’s seven Golden Fork honours show a body of work built over time. They include product wins, regional recognition and repeated Small Artisan Producer of the Year honours.
2014: Small Artisan Producer of the Year
In 2014, The Artisan Kitchen was named Small Artisan Producer of the Year. This was an early defining moment for the business, recognising the quality and ambition of a young preserve kitchen built around small batches, fruit and flavour.
That year, The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ was also named among the Great Taste Top 50 Foods and became a finalist for Supreme Champion. For Sarah’s preserve, made with rare local Gloucestershire plums, it was a powerful reminder that traditional fruit, handled carefully, can stand alongside the finest food products in the country.
2017: Ambient Product of the Year for Seville Orange Marmalade
In 2017, The Artisan Kitchen’s Seville Orange Marmalade was named Ambient Product of the Year. This was especially meaningful because Seville orange marmalade sits at the heart of traditional preserving.
A great Seville marmalade has nowhere to hide. The balance has to be right. The peel needs the correct texture. The set must feel generous without becoming heavy. The citrus needs depth, structure and clarity. This award recognised those details and the care required to bring them together in the pan.
Read the full story of The Artisan Kitchen’s 2017 Seville Orange Marmalade Golden Fork.
Explore The Artisan Kitchen’s Seville Orange Marmalade
2019: Small Artisan Producer of the Year
In 2019, The Artisan Kitchen was again named Small Artisan Producer of the Year. By this stage, the awards were no longer about a single product doing well. They showed a wider body of work across jams, marmalades and citrus preserves.
That year included three-star recognition for The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™, Tarocco Blood Orange Marmalade, Blood Orange Marmalade Italian Orange Bitters and Seville Orange Marmalade Vino de Naranja. It reflected a kitchen working with range, precision and a very clear point of view.
2021: Golden Fork for the South West for Tropical Marmalade
In 2021, The Artisan Kitchen’s Tropical Marmalade won the Golden Fork for the South West. This recognition was especially significant because the marmalade brought together a more layered citrus style while still holding the clarity and balance that define The Artisan Kitchen’s approach.
Tropical Marmalade relies on careful judgement. A blend of bright, aromatic fruit notes can easily become crowded or heavy. The aim is to keep the flavour expressive but composed, with each citrus element adding character without overpowering the whole.
This Golden Fork recognised not only the fruit and flavour, but the technical control needed to create a marmalade that feels generous, clean and complete.
Explore The Artisan Kitchen’s Tropical Marmalade
2021: Small Artisan Producer of the Year
The same year, The Artisan Kitchen was again named Small Artisan Producer of the Year. This further recognition underlined both product quality and producer consistency.
It is one thing to create a single award-winning jar. It is quite another to keep producing at that level across seasons, fruits and recipes. That is where small-batch preserving becomes both craft and discipline.
2022: Golden Fork for the South West for The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™
In 2022, The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ won the Golden Fork for the South West. The award recognised the particular preserve created by chef Sarah Churchill and handmade in The Artisan Kitchen’s Gloucester kitchen using rare Blaisdon Red plums grown locally in Gloucestershire.
The fruit has a naturally deep, generous flavour, but the cooking still matters. Sarah’s aim is to preserve the character of the plum without losing its freshness or balance. The Golden Fork celebrated her recipe, her craftsmanship and the individual jam she has produced commercially since 2013.
Explore The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™
2022: Small Artisan Producer of the Year
Also in 2022, The Artisan Kitchen received another Small Artisan Producer of the Year honour. By then, the business had built a long record of Great Taste success across jams and marmalades, including multiple three-star products.
For a small producer, this kind of repeated recognition matters. It shows that the work is not based on shortcuts or trends, but on a steady approach: excellent fruit, small batches, careful judgement and a chef’s eye for balance.
Why These Awards Matter for Preserves
Preserves are deceptively simple. At their best, they rely on fruit, sugar and careful cooking. There is very little to hide behind, which makes balance and technique even more important.
In judging, this simplicity becomes a strength. A well-made jam or marmalade should feel clean, expressive and true to the fruit. When those elements come together, the result is something that feels both generous and precise.
A Chef’s Approach to Preserving
Preserving may look simple, but it is a precise craft. Small changes in fruit ripeness, cooking time, sugar balance or peel texture can alter the final result completely.
That is where professional kitchen training makes a difference. Each recipe is approached with the same care as a dish: balance matters, texture matters, and the final flavour has to feel complete.
Seven Golden Fork honours tell a story of consistency, but the work behind them is still very simple. Choose remarkable fruit. Cook it carefully. Let the flavour lead.
Golden Fork Awards FAQ
How many Golden Fork honours has The Artisan Kitchen received?
The Artisan Kitchen has received seven Golden Fork honours at the Great Taste Awards.
What are Golden Fork Awards?
Golden Fork Awards are top-level honours within the Great Taste Awards. They are selected from the highest-performing products after blind tasting and further judging.
Why do Golden Fork Awards matter?
Golden Fork Awards matter because they recognise products and producers judged to be among the very best in food and drink.
Which Artisan Kitchen products have received Golden Fork recognition?
The Artisan Kitchen’s Golden Fork recognition includes The Artisan Kitchen’s Tropical Marmalade, Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ and Seville Orange Marmalade, alongside repeated Small Artisan Producer of the Year honours. The 2022 Golden Fork for the South West was awarded specifically to The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™, created and handmade by chef Sarah Churchill.
Who received the 2022 Golden Fork for Blaisdon Red Plum Jam?
The 2022 Golden Fork for the South West was awarded to The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™, created by chef Sarah Churchill and commercially produced by The Artisan Kitchen in Gloucester since 2013.
Where is The Artisan Kitchen based?
The Artisan Kitchen is based in Gloucestershire, where Sarah Churchill makes award-winning jams and marmalades in small batches.
Written by Sarah Churchill
Sarah is the chef and founder of The Artisan Kitchen, the Gloucestershire preserve kitchen recognised with seven Great Taste Golden Fork honours. She created The Artisan Kitchen’s Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ and has produced it commercially in Gloucester since 2013.
