Greeba Farm Ltd. is celebrating after winning two prestigious 2011 Great Taste Awards. The local producer has been presented with coveted one star Gold Taste Awards for its Greeba Giant mushroom and its Portabella mushroom. The two varieties are part of a wide range grown by the farm from the delicate button to the full flavoured flat mushroom in both the white and chestnut varieties with the rich portabella, with its meatier texture, being the cream of the crop. The Greeba Giant, a firm large white closed cup mushroom named after local legend, is grown for longer and has a wonderful full flavour yet is firm and crisp. Mark Irwin, Director of Greeba Farm Ltd. said: “These awards give us yet another reason to celebrate in the 40th anniversary year of a Manx mushroom farm on this site. They follow our success in the Manx Food Heroes Awards (for best large company) and recent nomination and shortlising for the finals in the Isle of Man Tomorrow’s Farmer 2011 awards, the first horticultural farm to have ever been nominated. The success is a testament to the dedication of our specialist team and our unique farm here in Greeba and is one of the great highlights of nearly 30 years in mushroom growing for me.” The Great Taste Awards, organised by The Guild of Fine Food, are now in their 18th year and going from strength to strength. 7481 products were entered from 1600 companies for the 2011 Great Taste Awards. It took 350 experts 34 days to blind taste all the enteries and decide which would achieve the coveted one, two and three star gold awards. The judging standards are the most rigorous in the UK. The Great Taste Awards has been described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world and the ‘epicurean equivalent of the Booker Prize’. Bob Farrand, Chairman for The Great Taste Awards commented: “Winning Gold in the UK’s largest and most respected independent food accreditation scheme is a massive pat on the back for any producer – independent proof their products are of the highest quality. We provide constructive feedback from our expert judging teams and for many winning 1, 2 or 3 star Gold is exactly what’s needed to help grow their businesses even during a recession. Every winner should feel very proud that their hard work has been rewarded.” The Manx public will have the opportunity to taste these award winning mushrooms at the Royal Agricultural Show’s Food Theatre on Friday 12th August at 2.15pm. Not only can they taste them but watch them being cooked by Nobles Hospital chef, Dean Georgeson and Kathy Irwin from Greeba Farm. Kathy is impressed by the dedication of the catering department at the hospital: “It’s a great way to thank them for supporting Manx food – to me they are our unsung Manx Food Heroes”. A full list of award-winning products is available at www.greattasteawards.co.uk and can be searched by region, award or product category. ENDS