The tub in the freezer at Fire and Ice is now officially the most delicious thing made in Wales this year.
The Narberth gelato makers’ Passion Fruit Sorbet was named Golden Fork from Wales at the Great Taste awards at Battersea Arts Centre in London on Tuesday night, the top prize in the scheme the trade calls the Oscars of food and drink.
It beat the other two Welsh finalists, a 100% grass-fed leg of Welsh lamb from Hindwell Farm Meats in Presteigne and an enchilada paste from Kursat’s in Brecon, and was picked from 306 three-star products from around the world after three separate rounds of judging.
“A smack of fabulous flavour”
The judges’ verdict, published by the Guild of Fine Food, which runs the awards, is worth quoting. The sorbet “stood out because of its incredible texture and long lasting, bold, bright flavour”, with “an excellent balance of sweet and sour elements and a taste of real passionfruit”.
They called it clever, “with both a creamy feel and a sherbet-y zing”, and said “the modest appearance belies a smack of fabulous flavour, which is deeply fruity, tangy and tastes absolutely natural. A highly accomplished product that is a delight to eat.”
Fire and Ice had entered a single flavour this year after six years away from the awards, and took three stars, the rating given to just 2% of the 15,038 products judged. “We’re keeping everything crossed,” the shop said in July when the shortlist was announced. The crossing worked.
Two sorbets in a row
Wales has now produced the same kind of winner two years running. Last September the Golden Fork from Wales went to Mario’s of Penygroes for its Blackcurrant and Cassis Sorbet. This year it has moved 30 miles west, from Carmarthenshire to Pembrokeshire, and stayed frozen.
Wales took 199 one-, two- and three-star awards in this year’s judging, up by more than a third on 2025, with more than 50 of them made across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea Bay.
The Golden Fork from Wales was sponsored by Food and Drink Wales. Seventeen Golden Forks were handed out on the night, including the first Supreme Champion ever chosen in a live judging session, which went to a wagyu beef ham from Entrepeñas in Spain.
Chef Jose Pizarro, one of the judges who made that call, said the meat was “incredibly tender” and that “the ruby colour was just absolutely right, and when you taste it, the flavour is everything”.
John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, said: “It’s not at all easy to grab an award in Great Taste. 60% of products do not achieve any star-rating, and at just 2% of all entries, the 3-stars are rare as hen’s teeth. A Golden Fork is a triumph.”
The other national winners were Eggleston, a cheese from Primrose Creamery, for England; a blood orange alcohol-free aperitif from Sour Power Vinegars for Scotland; a buttermilk dry cure bacon rack from Hannan Meats for Northern Ireland; and a 25% sour cream from Green Pastures Donegal for Ireland.
Every Great Taste entry is blind-tasted by a panel of more than 800 judges over 105 days, stripped of branding and packaging, and each three-star rating is valid for three years.
For anyone in Narberth, the sorbet is sold from the shop’s freezer. For everyone else, the full list of winners and stockists is at gff.co.uk/directory.
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