GREAT Garnetts Farm has won a gold award in one of the most prestigious food competitions in the UK. Farm manager Jonathan Smith said: We are delighted with this award. Winning a prestigious award such as this from the Guild of Fine Food and its distingu

GREAT Garnetts Farm has won a gold award in one of the most prestigious food competitions in the UK.

Farm manager Jonathan Smith said: "We are delighted with this award. Winning a prestigious award such as this from the Guild of Fine Food and its distinguished panel of judges is a wonderful achievement for a small family farm like ours, and is a reflection of the team's dedication to producing the best quality food."

Food critic Charles Campion said: "This competition has really come of age and year by year the standard of entries gets higher and higher.

"To win gold at the Great Taste Awards is a terrific achievement."

Located just south of Dunmow the farm has been trading for nearly 40 years and has become a real tradition in the area.

Its experienced farmers were delighted to come out on top after some of the most rigorous judging possible.

Known as the 'Oscars of the food industry' the 2008 Great Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, have been judging entries since May, throughout the whole country, and Great Garnetts came out on top for its fresh pork.

Every entry in the competition is blind tasted by teams of experts. By the time it earns gold, it will have been assessed by at least three different teams.

All the judges' comments are made available to producers. If no gold is awarded, they need to know how and why.

This year's judges include Alex James, farmer, journalist and bass player with Blur, Mark Hix, the chef's chef, Charles Campion from Evening Standard & The Independent, Tom Parker-Bowles of UKTV Food's Market Kitchen and national food journalist Fiona Sims.

Bob Farrand, spokesman for the Guild of Fine Food, said: "These awards have been running for 15 years now and are a recognised mark of excellence that consumers can trust and rely on.

"The winning products have been through a thorough judging process and we are able to assure consumers that the Great Taste Award logo, which all award winners can use in their promotions, signifies genuine, proven fine food.