Hellooooo!!
The very first day of last month, once I was done with my orders, I checked - as I always do - Instagram and my social medias... And, OMG: the results of the Great Taste were finally published!!
What's the Great Taste? Right, let me tell you everything from the very beginning...
First of all, "Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for fine food and drink. It has been described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world and the ‘epicurean equivalent of the Booker prize’. Quite simply the Great Taste logo is the sign you can trust when buying food and drink in your local, quality retailer.
The judges, from all corners of the food world, blind-taste in teams of 3 or 4 ensuring we get a balance of expertise, age and gender."
WOW!
I really couldn't miss the chance to partecipate with some of my products... Yes, but which one actually? In February, I had to make the choice. I don't know why (or maybe yes) but my instinct told me straight away to go for the Caprese cake and for the rum babà. Basically two delicious traditional products of my beautiful Naples. But that was my personal opinion... To make sure I wasn't rushing the decision (I didn't want to enter more than 2 products, this I knew for sure), I asked to my at-the time-not-yet-husband and to some of my best friends here in London to help me, telling me what they would choose between some options that I gave them. In the end, the 2 finalists were the Caprese and the mini tiramisù... Great! They are actually two of the things that really remind me of my family: my father is the master of the tiramisù and her sister (so my aunt) makes the best Caprese cake I've ever tasted... No need to say that I've learnt how to make both the Caprese and the Tiramisù from them!
So I entered the "competition" with these two products without saying anything to anybody (yes, as every Neapolitan I am a bit superstitious... so, shhh!)!
And so August arrived! I actually hadn't checked which day the results were released but because I follow the Guild of Fine Food on Instagram, on the 1st of August I realised that the results were out... I instantly check my emails, and... What a super surpriseeeee!!! My Caprese was awarded with not-just-one but 2 Gold stars!!! Yayyyy!!
I couldn't really believe it, because hey - it was just my first time ever entering this thing!!! The good thing is that you can actually read all the feedbacks and comments of the judges who tasted your products... And I was almost crying!!! Here you can read what they wrote about my Caprese...
Also, a little bit upsetting that my tiramisu wasn't worth a star... But that's ok, probably its a too much renowned dessert to surprise the judges' palates!!
Caprese is one of my favorite cake, because it is made mainly with dark chocolate (which I absolutely love) and almonds - my favorite nuts!
Plus, it's a traditional cake from my city AND, as I said, it is one of my family handed down recipe! The smell of this freshly baked cake is something so yummy that I am not able to describe in words... You just have to try it really!
If you are curious to have my recipe - just drop me an email and I will be more than happy to share it with you!
Now, I think I'm gonna treat myself with a slice of the caprese I've just baked for me and my husband...
Time to say goodbye my dear foodies, but remember: you can't buy happiness but you can buy a cake. And it's kinda the same thing!
xx
Serena