A SAUCE created by the owners of an Abersoch restaurant has scooped a coveted Great Taste award.

Great Taste is a blind-tasted food awards, which celebrates the very best in food and drink, has announced the Great Taste stars of 2018.

Out of over 12,600 products to be judged, The Coconut Kitchen was awarded a one-star Great Taste award for its newly launched Thai Style Sweet and Sour Stir-fry Sauce, which means judges dubbed it a food that delivers fantastic flavour.

The judges said about the sauce: “Good initial smell of garlic, a good viscosity, strong colour, warmth of chilli not too excessive. Sweetness of pineapple noticeable and not overpowered by the saltiness of the soy. We like the aftertaste to this well balanced and natural product.”

Judged by over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers, as well as a host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers.

As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to a wonderful tasting product, which has been discovered through hours and hours of blind-tasting by hundreds of judges.

Coconut Kitchen sales director Paul Withington said: “We had a break from any awards last year but were really pleased that our new stir-fry sauce, which was born as a special in the restaurant, has won us another award.

“It also has the bonus of being vegan friendly. We are slowly adding to our vegan range where we can. It’s sometimes tricky with Thai sauces but where we can replace any fish sauce or shrimp paste without losing the authentic Thai flavour, we do. Preechaya’s palate has again come to the fore and proved its possible!

“We will be out and about and lots of food festivals in north and south Wales over the rest of the year and we will be making this sauce the star of the show.”

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