A Greek honey label, “Authentiko” Cretan Thyme Honey, on Tuesday took home the Supreme Champion Award at the Great Taste Golden Forks Awards 2024, the world’s most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme.
This is the second consecutive year that a Greek food brand wins top spot at the Golden Forks, Roussas Dairy’s Galotyri PDO cheese from Attica having won the 2023 competition.
At the glittering awards ceremony of the “Oscars of the food world” in London’s Battersea Arts Centre, attended by the Greek Reporter, Melicreta-Leontarakis also took home the 2024 Golden Fork from Greece – the other nominees being Epiros Organic Feta PDO Cheese from Optima and Lavender Honey from The Bear’s Honey.
Producers Giannis and Eleni Leontarakis were excited to pick up the two awards, which they believe will open up opportunities for more international exports.
“Our efforts were rewarded today and we are very happy,” producer Giannis Leontarakis told the Greek Reporter after receiving the prestigious Golden Fork award. “We put a lot of effort and a lot of work and we always strive for a good product, good in flavor and in general.”
Great Taste is organised by the Guild of Fine Food and, now in its 31st year, is the world’s largest, longest standing and most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food and drink producers.
Greek honey a taste champion among thousands of international participants
This year, the Great Taste awards saw 13,672 products entered, with 5,590 securing a 1-, 2- or 3-star award. The 10 top-scoring 3-star products were in the running for the Supreme Champion title and “Authentiko” Cretan Thyme Honey from Melicreta-Leontarakis stood out above them all to take the top spot.
The judges thought this specific Greek product was “simply delicious, and had an acidity and freshness that caused an explosion on the taste buds. The sweet intensity of the flavour tingled, without being overpowering. It was floral, and delicate and the thyme came through right at the end… absolute bliss”.
“Now at its climax, in announcing the Golden Forks we are celebrating the very best producers; those who take care to ensure their products hit the markers of trusted raw ingredients, simple production methods, and food & drink that has personality, but ultimately, that tastes great,” said John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food.
“These principles are clearly showcased by this year’s Supreme Champion, Melicreta-Leontarakis, a company that has a multi-generational history in apiculture and a commitment to traditional making methods. “Authentiko” Cretan Thyme Honey is 100 percent raw and natural; in a time where ultra-processed foods make up many people’s diets, I’m delighted to see our highest accolade is the antidote to this, celebrating a single ingredient,” Farrand added.
Greek Golden Fork top award winners hopeful of more exports
Melicreta-Leontarakis has been nominating its thyme honey to the Great Taste awards since 2016 and has previously won star awards before eventually winning the top distinction of Supreme Champion.
“It’s the Cretan aromas from Cretan herbs which I believe won over the judges. This honey features thyme, sage, savory, and other herbs from the Cretan mountains. All those aromas blend together,” says Giannis Leontarakis.
“The beehives are not stationary. They are being moved around through the year to give the bees access to the different flowers, the different climate and different soil of each area,” explains Eleni Leontaraki. “It’s also important that we conly ollect the honey once a year, so it’s the bees that blend the aromas themselves. We don’t collect different honeys during the year ourselves and blend them; this process happens naturally by the bees in the beehive,” she adds.
At present, Melicreta-Leontarakis sells only to Greece and Germany. According to Giannis Leontarakis, the dominance of cheap honeys is making it difficult for artisan honeys like his label to reach wider markets at a fair price for the business.
“This is one reason for participating at the Great Taste awards, to show our worth and enter the market at the price our honey is worth,” he concludes.
