Simply Ice Cream, based near Ashford, is celebrating the news that its Christmas Pudding Ice Cream and new Blackcurrant Sorbet have wowed the judges in the Great Taste 2014, by both being awarded 2 gold stars in the world’s largest and most rigorous food awards scheme involving over 400 judges and thousands of hours of blind tasting. The company is also delighted that its Divine Chocolate Ice Cream and Heavenly Honeycomb Ice Cream were awarded one gold star in the competition.

Great Taste is simply about taste, not clever branding or smart packaging. Judges are presented with, for example, a piece of cheese, a pie or a little dish of chutney, with no wrappings, jars or marks, and they taste, confer and re-taste before making the decision on whether a product should be a one, two or three-star winner. Of the 10,000 products entered, only 2.9% of entrants were awarded a two-star.

“We are delighted to have won these awards,” explains founder, Sally Newall. “We are always being complimented on our delicious ice cream and it is fantastic to have our achievements recognised again by Great Taste 2014. We are extremely proud to add the Great Taste logo to these products, joining our other nine Great Taste winners.

“Some of the judges’ comments about the two-star winner, Blackcurrant Sorbet, included ‘Beautiful dark colour and a good smooth texture. The fruit flavour is very intense and fresh and there’s a good fruity aroma too. Just the right amount of sweetness, excellent. Very refreshing for the palate’. The Christmas Pudding Ice Cream received the comment, ‘A winner! The taste of Christmas captured in frozen cream. Really boozy. The combination of flavours is authentic and nostalgic’.”

Simply’s range of Ice Cream is already stocked in 475 outlets including over 120 Waitrose stores UK-wide, and it supplies six own-label flavours to 75 Cook stores across the country.

Sally adds: “We will have a team celebration at some point, but the prolonged summer we’ve had and the rapid growth this year has ensured we haven’t had a minute to spare! However, you will find members of the hard-working team (and, of course, the ice cream) popping up at various events across Kent over the next few weeks, including trade shows such as Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2014 and Canterbury Food and Drink Festival.

“This a brilliant end to a really fantastic and busy year for Simply; these awards are incredibly important to us and proof that our handmade, luxurious quality is never compromised.”

For more information on where to find Simply Ice Cream stockists or events have a look at www.simplyicecream.co.uk.