Gluten-free Brownie Tops Great Taste Awards

October 1, 2009

A gluten-free chocolate brownie has won the Supreme Champion trophy in the 2009 Great Taste Awards held in the UK.

The More? Muddees brownie was made by Patrick Moore, a former chef who runs More?, The Artisan Bakery in Staveley, near Kendal.

Moore came within a whisker of winning the top prize in last year’s awards with his More? Muddee, a brownie with a thin, crisp crust and moist rich centre. But it was the gluten-free version of the same recipe that secured this year’s prize.

The final judging was held at upmarket food retailer, Fortnum & Masons with judges including TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson, restaurateur Mark Hix, former Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers and Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans.

The Great Taste Awards is organised annually by the Guild of Fine Food with more than 100 leading chefs, cookery writers, retail buyers and food and drink specialists judging thousands of foods in a process lasting several months.

The best products – most of which are available in British delis and farm shops – are awarded one, two or three gold stars with regional and national awards also being presented.

Moore said the prestigious award for his gluten-free Muddees proved it was not necessary to compromise quality to meet special dietary needs.

“I think intolerance sufferers are short-changed,” he said. “It’s almost as though, because a food carries a gluten-free claim, it’s acceptable for it to be lower quality and ridiculously expensive. I don’t think that’s right. So I was only interested in doing it if people couldn’t tell the difference between the gluten-free version and my original brownie.”

Chairman of judges Simon Burdess, Fortnum & Mason’s trading director, also announced a special commendation for Irish artisan fish smoker Woodcock Smokery’s wild smoked salmon.

Owner Sally Barnes collected the Supreme Champion title in 2006 but was nearly put out of business by the closure of Ireland’s wild salmon fishery.

Barnes has rebuilt the business on wild-caught Scottish salmon and came within a few votes of winning her second Supreme Champion title this year.

The event was hosted by Nigel Barden, BBC Radio 2’s food correspondent and a regular contributor to Chris Evans’ current Drivetime show.