About the BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Awards 2018
Find out how an expert BBC Good Food panel tasted its way through more than 160 supermarket products to provide you with the definitive festive shopping list.
Who was invited to enter?
We invited supermarkets with more than 300 branches that sell fresh, frozen and dry goods to enter these awards.
Judging:
We asked each supermarket to submit their star products across 20 categories. There was no charge to enter. Each product was removed from its original packaging, portioned out and judged blind, with taste and flavour our most important criteria. The panel was made up of members of the cookery hub, review and digital editorial teams, and the judging was overseen by an independent adjudicator who compiled the results and feedback. We disqualified whole categories if product standard wasn't high enough or there weren't enough entries submitted.
Categories:
Turkey
Criteria: A free-range, extra special hero product to take pride of place on the Christmas dinner table.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
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Alternative meat centrepiece
Criteria: A carve-able meat dish for those wanting a break from turkey.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Vegetarian main course
Criteria: A veggie main that’s every bit as tasty as its meat counterparts (either individually portioned or serving two or more).
Judged entries from: Aldi, Booths, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose & Partners
Gammon
Criteria: A raw gammon joint that’s ready to cook on the hob or in the oven.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Waitrose & Partners
Stuffing
Criteria: A pre-prepared festive stuffing that’s ready to cook in the oven or microwave.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Smoked salmon
Criteria: A top-quality smoked fish. We wanted the best sustainable salmon, served sliced or whole.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Vegetarian canapés
Criteria: Smart, innovative vegetarian party nibbles to impress guests. We tested canapés that come ready to serve, assembly-only bites and those that can be cooked from chilled or frozen.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's
Vegan canapés
Criteria: Smart, innovative vegan party nibbles to impress guests. We tested canapés that come ready to serve, assembly-only bites and those that can be cooked from chilled or frozen.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Savoury canapés (meat or fish)
Criteria: Smart, innovative party nibbles (meat, fish or shellfish) to impress guests. We tested canapés that come ready to serve, assembly-only bites and those that can be cooked from chilled or frozen.
Judged entries from: Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Sweet canapés
Criteria: Bite-sized desserts to impress party guests. We tested sweet canapés that come ready to serve or cooked from chilled.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Christmas pudding
Criteria: A fruity basin pudding that looks great on the table and can be cooked in the pan, oven or microwave.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Gluten-free Christmas pudding
Criteria: A gluten-free fruity basin pudding that looks great on the table and can be cooked in the pan, oven or microwave.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Christmas cake
Criteria: A traditional Christmas cake, decorated or iced and ready to serve.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose & Partners
Centrepiece dessert
Criteria: A visually appealing fresh or frozen pudding that’s full of flavour and can be served iced, warm or cold.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, M&S, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Mince pies
Criteria: We take mince pies very seriously at BBC Good Food – they’re our most popular online recipe every Christmas. We looked for mince pies made from traditional shortcrust or puff pastry, featuring a fruit filling and a lid.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Gluten-free mince pies
Criteria: Gluten-free mince pies to rival the original, complete with fruit filling and a lid.
Judged entries from: Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Stollen
Criteria: A whole stollen log or individual stollen pieces with strong marzipan flavours, served either dusted or iced.
Judged entries from: Asda, Booths, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Panettone
Criteria: A festive panettone. This year, non-traditional flavours such as chocolate were accepted.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Morrisons
Vegan main course - disqualified
Criteria: A vegan main that’s tantamount to meaty and veggie alternatives (can be individually portioned or serving two or more).
Vegan dessert - disqualified
Criteria: A traffic-stopping vegan pudding with fantastic, multi-dimensional flavours to serve after the main event (can be frozen or fresh and served iced, warm or cold).
The results
Now take a look at which products won...
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