Croots Farm Shop has struck gold in this year’s Great Taste Awards, with gold stars for a trio of products.
Croots sloe gin earned two gold stars and the label of ‘outstanding’, with judges saying: “Beautiful looking sloe gin, great colour and lovely ‘on the nose’.”
The drink is made by Croots Farm Shop owner Steve Croot from sloes collected around Farnah House Farm, in Wirksworth Road, Duffield, where the farm shop is based.
Croots leg of lamb and Croots sticky maple and hickory belly pork also each won a gold star in the awards, which are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food world.
Steve said: “These awards are presented to the very best food and drink products, so we are over the moon to have won gold stars for three more of our products. I only started making the sloe gin last year, so I’m particularly pleased that the judges regarded it as outstanding.”
In previous years Croots has scooped Great Taste Awards for a range of home-produced items, including sausages, smoked salmon pâté, bacon, pork pie, muesli and lemon oil.
Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for speciality food and drink and has been described as the ‘epicurean equivalent of the Booker prize’. Products awarded two stars are deemed ‘outstanding’, while those that receive one star are viewed as ‘simply delicious’.
The judges included hundreds of top chefs, restaurateurs, acclaimed cooks, food experts, retail buyers and food writers.
They said of Croots leg of lamb: “A good leg of lamb, great aroma, great taste, simple and does what it’s supposed to.” Their description of Croots sticky maple and hickory belly pork was: “Great flavour to the meat and fat. Clean, tender and very tasty.”
“Our meat is either bred at the farm or comes from nearby farms, and our butchers have built up a great reputation for their skills and their products. I’m so pleased that two of the popular items from the butchers’ counter have been recognised in such a high-profile award scheme,” added Steve.
Croots Farm Shop opened in 2008 and is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road. It is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.
For more information about Croots visit www.croots.co.uk
Twitter @crootsfarm_shop
