Guild of Fine Food

The Guild of Fine Food Limited

Company type	Private Company
Founded	1992
Founder	Bob Farrand
Headquarters	Gillingham, Dorset , UK
Number of locations	2
Website	www.gff.co.uk

• Food portal

The Guild of Fine Food (GFF) is a British family-owned industry journal publisher that covers gourmet food news. It was founded by Bob Farrand in 1992. ^{[1] [2]}

All five directors are members of the Farrand family. Bob Farrand is the chairman, his son John Farrand is the managing director, daughter-in-law Tortie Farrand marketing director, his wife Linda Farrand a director and niece Sally Coley ^{[3] [4]}

GFF promotes the Great Taste Awards and also the World Cheese Awards, which were initiated in 1988. ^[5]

From its base in Gillingham, near Shaftesbury in Dorset, it promotes producers and sellers of "artisan food and drink" across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. ^[6]

Great Taste Awards

The Great Taste Awards are open to members and non-members, but only products that pay an entry fee of between £38 and £240 per product are judged. ^[7] Winning products receive one, two or three stars. ^[8] In 2018, 12,634 food and drink products were judged. ^[8]

World Cheese Awards

The World Cheese Award "World Champion" has been awarded to: ^{[9] [10]}

Year	Winner	Venue and other details
1988	Blue Cheshire by Hutchinson-Smith & Sons, England. [11]
1989	Blue Stilton by Dairy Crest Foods, Hartington, England.
1990	Mature Traditional Cheddar by Dairy Crest, Sturminster Newton, England
1991	Fourme d'Ambert by Hennart Frères, France
1992	Le Gruyère Premier Cru by von Mühlenen of Switzerland.
1993	Double Gloucester by Dairy Crest, Longridge, England
1994	Brie de Meaux AOC by Hennart Frères, France
1995	Shropshire Blue by Cropwell Bishop Creamery, England
1996	Lord of the Hundreds by Traditional Cheese Dairy, England
1997	Parmigiano Reggiano by Caseficio Vittorio Quistello, Italy
1998	Mature Traditional Cheddar by Dairy Crest, Sturminster Newton, England
1999	Kollumer 18 months (Old Dutch master) by Frico Cheese, Holland
2000	Mature West Country Farmhouse Cheddar by Brue Valley Farms, England
2001	Camembert Super Medaillon by Isigny Sainte-Mère, France Mature Cheddar by Carbery, Ireland
2002	Le Gruyère AOC Reserve by von Mühlenen of Switzerland
2003	Chevre d'Or Camembert by Eurial-Poitouaine/Eurilai, France
2004	Camembert de Normandie by Isigny Sainte-Mère, France
2005	Le Gruyère Premier Cru by von Mühlenen of Switzerland.
2006	Ossau-Iraty by Fromagerie Agour of France
2007	Brie de Meaux, Rénard Gillard, France
2008	Queso Arico curado pimentón by Sociedad Canaria de Formento of Tenerife, Spain. [12]
2009	Le Cendrillon by La Maison Alexis de Portneuf of Québec, Canada. [13]
2010	Cornish Blue by Cornish Cheese Co. of England. [14]
2011	Ossau-Iraty by Fromagerie Agour of France. [15]
2012	Manchego DO Gran Reserva by Dehesa de Los Llanos of Spain. [16]
2013	Montagnolo Affiné by Käserei Champignon of Germany	2,777 cheeses, 436 producers, 30 countries). [17]
2014	Bath Blue by Bath Soft Cheese of England	2,600 cheeses, 33 countries). [18]
2015	Le Gruyère AOP by von Mühlenen of Switzerland	NEC, Birmingham; 2,727 cheeses). [19]
2016	Kraftkar by Tingvollost of Norway	San Sebastián, Spain; 3,060 cheeses). [20]
2017	Cornish Kern, by Lynher Dairies Cheese Company, England	Tobacco Dock, London; 3,001 cheeses). [21]
2018	Fanaost, a gouda by Ostegården of Fana, Norway	Grieghallen, Bergen; 3,472 cheeses, 30 countries) [22]
2019	Rogue River Blue by Rogue Creamery of Central Point, OR, USA	Bergamo, Italy; 3,804 cheeses, 42 countries). [23] [24]
2020	No competition due to COVID-19. [25]
2021	Olavidia by Qesos y Besos (Lacteos Romero Pelaez) of Guarromán, Jaén, Spain	Oviedo, Spain; 4,079 cheeses, 45 countries). [26]
2022	Le Gruyère AOC by Vorderfultigen Gourmino	Newport, Wales; Record 4,434 cheeses. [27]
2023	Nidelven Blå by Gangstad Gårdsysteri	Trondheim, Norway; 4,502 cheeses. [28]
2024	Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado by Quinta do Pomar	Viseu, Portugal; 4,786 cheeses. [29]

References

1. "Guild of Fine Food moves to new HQ in Gillingham Dorset". The Visitor Magazine. The Visitor Ltd. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
2. "THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". Companies House. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
3. "Meet the team". The Guild of Fine Food. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
4. "THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House)". Companies House. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
5. "In the best possible taste – the Guild of Fine Food: Joël Lacey visits Gillingham's Guild of Fine Food". Dorset Life. Dorset Life Magazine. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
6. "Guild website: Join the Guild". Fine Food Guild. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
7. "Brochure : "Entry information"" (PDF). gff.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
8. "Great Taste - A History" (PDF). gff.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
9. "Los 28 mejores quesos del mundo de la historia reciente". ABC Viajar. 15 November 2016.
10. Briggs, Fiona (13 December 2010). "Fine food boss picks eight champion cheeses for Christmas". Retail Times.
11. "Group Captain David Hutchinson Smith". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
12. White, Emma (17 October 2008). "World Cheese Awards unveiled". Thecaterer.com. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
13. "World Cheese Awards 2009". Thegoodwebguide.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
14. "2010 World Cheese Awards: Major Winners". Cheesemonger's Weblog. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
15. "French sheep's milk cheese is champion at 2011 World Cheese Awards". Retail Times. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
16. "Manchego wins nail-biting World Cheese Awards 2012". Cheesechap.com. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
17. "World Cheese Awards Winners Announced | News | Speciality Food Magazine". Specialityfoodmagazine.com. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
18. "Bath Blue takes the highest honour in world cheese". The Guild of Fine Food. 14 November 2014. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
19. Spector, Felicity (30 November 2015). "Is this the best cheese in the world?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
20. "Kraftkar, un queso azul noruego, mejor del mundo en los World Cheese Awards 2016" [Kraftkar, a Norwegian blue cheese, world's best in the 2016 World Cheese Awards]. ELMUNDO (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2016.
21. "British cheese named best in the world at World Cheese Awards 2017". FG Insight. 20 November 2017. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
22. Lane, Michael (2 November 2018). "Norwegian gouda is 2018 World Cheese Awards champion". Guild of Fine Food. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018.
23. "US cheese takes top spot at World Cheese Awards 2019". Dairy Reporter. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
24. Holson, Laura M. (November 2019). "The World's Best Cheese? It's Blue and Comes From Oregon". New York Times. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
25. "World Cheese Awards rescheduled for 2021". Guild of Fine Food. 22 July 2020.
26. "This Spanish Cheese Was Just Named 'World's Best'". Food & Wine. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
27. "The World Champion Cheese 2022 is announced: Le Gruyère AOP surchoix". Guild of Fine Food. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
28. Ørnhaug, Elina Rydland; Hatland, Lena Erikke; Flatjord, Nora Garnes (27 October 2023). "Dette er verdens beste ost" [This is the best cheese in the world]. NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 October 2023.
29. "Best cheese in the world – now sold out". The Portugal News. 19 November 2024.