Award Winners!
We are hugely proud that we have won SIX awards at the 2021 Taste of the West awards.
Brilliant work by our whole team(the Hunks) here at Chunk especially over the past year. Making & baking superb pies and pasties, it really is a team effort.
⭐️ Steak & Kidney Pie - GOLD
⭐️ Chicken, Mushroom & Tarragon Pie - GOLD
⭐️ Veggie Tagine Pie - GOLD
⭐️ Lamb Maroc Pasty - GOLD
⭐️ Steak Pasty - GOLD
🥈 Cheatin' Cheeze Pasty (Vegan) - SILVER
The Taste of the West awards are entered by a whole load of passionate, artisan producers from all over the South West.
With plenty of categories to enter, this is the showcase of the best of the best in the South West. Not just food producers like us at Chunk, but Deli, cafes and tearooms, restaurants, pubs and much more, all with their own category, where they are judged alongside others in their sector. You really have to be on the top of your game!
The Savoury Category has pretty stiff competition for us at Chunk - up against the big boys in Cornwall and also the little independent bakers who make on a much smaller scale, but this just means that it’s always a real achievement for us when we receive an award for any product.
With plenty of categories to enter, this is the showcase of the best of the best in the South West. Not just food producers like us at Chunk, but Deli, cafes and tearooms, restaurants, pubs and much more, all with their own category, where they are judged alongside others in their sector. You really have to be on the top of your game!
The Savoury Category has pretty stiff competition for us at Chunk - up against the big boys in Cornwall and also the little independent bakers who make on a much smaller scale, but this just means that it’s always a real achievement for us when we receive an award for any product.
We must stress that we never have and never will make special batches for the awards - that's just not our style.
We know what we’ve entered - so on the day they need to be delivered we take 6 of the best looking pies from the day's batch of each recipe entered.
We study them to make sure they look perfect and set aside the prettiest three, then we take one of the others and this is the one we taste test.
From the three we’ve set aside we will choose two for our entries, pack them up and off they go!
No fudging or fettling at Chunk...what we send the judges for any awards are the same products we deliver all over the country, to deli’s, farm shops, butchers, pubs and all manner of independent retailers.
We study them to make sure they look perfect and set aside the prettiest three, then we take one of the others and this is the one we taste test.
From the three we’ve set aside we will choose two for our entries, pack them up and off they go!
No fudging or fettling at Chunk...what we send the judges for any awards are the same products we deliver all over the country, to deli’s, farm shops, butchers, pubs and all manner of independent retailers.
The awards are generally open to enter early in January, to Taste of the West members, and then a couple of months later to others.
You submit each product with title/name, a short description, then the main ingredients and most importantly a note of any allergens.
You are then asked for the selling price, and five outlets where it can be purchased.
You submit each product with title/name, a short description, then the main ingredients and most importantly a note of any allergens.
You are then asked for the selling price, and five outlets where it can be purchased.
The Taste of the West Awards attracts over 1,000 product entries and nearly 400 hospitality and retail entries each year and, in recent years, the awards ceremony has been held at The Great Hall at The University of Exeter with over 400 guests. An event we all look forward to attending, especially as it’s held midweek at lunchtime - you feel like you’re skipping school when you sneak out from work!
TOTW work closely with the chefs there, providing them with award-winning products from their pool of entrants. The chefs are then tasked with turning those stunning ingredients into impressive dishes – a daunting task for a room full of foodies and connoisseurs. But they never fail to impress with a glorious spread laid on from the minute you enter the Great hall.
With so many entries judged each year, the awards are open to all within the industry regardless of whether they are members or not. The judging process is run with military precision, with all entries being delivered to one location at once and then judged in three stages.
TOTW work closely with the chefs there, providing them with award-winning products from their pool of entrants. The chefs are then tasked with turning those stunning ingredients into impressive dishes – a daunting task for a room full of foodies and connoisseurs. But they never fail to impress with a glorious spread laid on from the minute you enter the Great hall.
With so many entries judged each year, the awards are open to all within the industry regardless of whether they are members or not. The judging process is run with military precision, with all entries being delivered to one location at once and then judged in three stages.
John Sheaves CEO of Taste of the West explains":-
“By the end of our judging process, approximately 750 out of the 1000 entries win awards – either gold, silver or commended, although it isn’t a set figure. It’s not particularly hard to narrow down to the final six or eight within each category, but getting down to the final three, let alone picking a winner, is sometimes close to impossible.”
In 2020 we were over the moon to receive 5 Gold Taste of the West awards.
Two Gold winners managed to qualify through to Stage 3….only to be judged against each other in the Vegan category!
Our Spicy JackPie and Chunki Roast veg pasty head to head...or a more suitable phrase ...crust to crust 🤣
Two Gold winners managed to qualify through to Stage 3….only to be judged against each other in the Vegan category!
Our Spicy JackPie and Chunki Roast veg pasty head to head...or a more suitable phrase ...crust to crust 🤣
To receive another 6 awards with 5 Golds in 2021 has just blown us away. This brings our award total to nearly 200, more than any other baker.
We’re just a little bit proud!
With the Food Drink Devon and Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards to be announced later this year....watch this space!
