Grazing on ancient pastures outside Abergavenny in Monmouthshire the sheep thrive on organic grass and hay grown on the farm, playing a vital role in the lamb’s outstanding flavour.

Now, following a 3-star win in the world’s most coveted food and drink accreditation scheme, Black Welsh Lamb has been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year through the Great Taste 2023 accreditation scheme.

Its leg of hogget lamb, lamb that matures at its own pace and is over a year old, scooped a 3-star award earlier this month, and it has now been announced that it was one of the highest scoring products, meaning Black Welsh Lamb is now in the running to win a Great Taste Golden Fork: the highest accolades in the food and drink world.

Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process

14,195 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process; and Black Welsh Lamb’s organic, pasture-fed hogget leg was dubbed a “a remarkable piece of meat”, full of flavour from those Black Mountain grasses” and ”tender and succulent” at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards based entirely on taste. 4,088 products were awarded a Great Taste 1-star – ‘food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’, 1,568 were awarded a Great Taste 2-star – ‘above and beyond delicious’, and only 248 were awarded a Great Taste 3-star – ‘extraordinarily tasty food and drink’. 

Nick and Sarah have been farming organically for twenty five years, restoring old hedgerows, planting native trees for the sheep to shelter under and caring for hay meadows.

Sarah Dickins from Black Welsh Lamb said “ We are so thrilled to have won a 3 star award for our lamb and being nominated for a Golden Fork is incredible. We are so proud to be adding this black and gold Great Taste badge of honour to our lamb when we send it off, across the UK, to restaurants and private customers”. “Great Taste , from the Guild of Fine Foods, is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink industry, so it’s a huge moment for us .”

“We started with two ewes that I bought Nick for his birthday, we bought another four and from those six have steadily developed our incredible flock. We have also spent a lot of time and energy improving the sustainability of our farm. Not only do we farm organically but for around fifteen years we have been part of environmental schemes to help nature. What is now clear is that those steps have also helped our sheep and the taste of our lamb. Earlier this year we had our soil tested and found it is, not just carbon neutral but carbon positive, a carbon sink”.

“To now be nominated for a Golden Fork, and know that we are one of the highest scoring products means so much to independent producers like us who also prioritise the impact of our behaviour on climate change”.

All will be revealed on Monday 11 September at the Great Taste Golden Forks awards ceremony held at Battersea Arts Centre, London (industry event only).