Judged by the Guild of Fine Food’s expert panel, Apley Smoked Pheasant is awarded a Great Taste 2 Star in the world’s most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme
Worcestershire and London-based, smokery and food entrepreneur, Macneils Smokehouse and Lady Hamilton have been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, picking up a highly prized 2-star Great Taste award for Apley Smoked Pheasant.
14,340 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process; and Apley Smoked Pheasant was judged to be “so much better than we expected pheasant to be” at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards. 3,899 products were awarded a Great Taste 1-star – ‘food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’, 1,508 were awarded a Great Taste 2-star – ‘above and beyond delicious’, and 273 were awarded a Great Taste 3-star – ‘extraordinarily tasty food and drink’.
Described as “a lovely change from smoked duck or chicken breast”, this expertly smoked game was a big hit with the Great Taste judges.
Made with beechwood smoke and sourced only from British country estates, the Apley Smoked Pheasant was one of 5,680 products to receive an award from Great Taste in 2025 (which is only 39.6% of the total products entered).
Macneils Smokehouse and Lady Hamilton commented: We must be one of the UK’s happiest food producers. We are thrilled to have won another Great Taste award for Apley Smoked Pheasant. We have longed for this moment and are so proud to be adding the prestigious black and gold Great Taste badge of honour to our smoked pheasant. We began collaborating back in 2017, experimenting and testing for 2 years until bringing it to market, so to be where we are today is truly a dream come true.
“Being recognised with a Great Taste 2-star means so much to independent producers like us, as it makes all the hard work and determination worth it! Great Taste is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink industry, so it’s a huge milestone in our story!” Lady Hamilton concludes.
What is Great Taste?
Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, the Great Taste accreditation scheme, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. Each product in the line-up for judging is blind-tasted and all packaging is removed, so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.
This year, judging took place over 110 days, with a panel of more than 500 judges putting entries to the test. The line-up saw food and drink products submitted from an extraordinary 110 different countries across the world.
The Apley Smoked Pheasant is available from Bayley and Sage. RRP: £15 (140g, twin breast pack)
For more information about Apley Smoked Pheasant, visit www.ApleySmokedPheasant.net.
The full list of this year’s winners and where to buy them can be found at www.gff.co.uk/directory and a wide range of the award-winning products are available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retailers across the country.
Check us out on socials
https://www.instagram.com/apleysmokedpheasant
https://www.facebook.com/apleysmokedpheasant/
#apleysmokedpheasant
Keep up to date with the Guild of Fine Food, organisers of Great Taste:
Instagram: guildoffinefood | LinkedIn: Guild of Fine Food
YouTube: @gffcouk | TikTok: @guildoffinefood