About the BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Awards 2019
A panel of BBC Good Food experts tasted its way through more than 200 festive supermarket products to provide you with the definitive Christmas shopping list.
Who was invited to enter?
Supermarkets with more than 25 branches or a comprehensive e-commerce offering, which sell own-brand, fresh, frozen and dry goods are eligible to enter these awards.
The judging
We asked each supermarket to submit their star products across 26 categories. There was no charge to enter. Each product was removed from its original packaging, cooked or prepared to pack instructions, portioned out and judged blind, with taste and flavour as the most important criteria. The panel was made up of the cookery, review and digital editorial teams. The judging took place in silence to ensure panel members wouldn’t influence each other’s decisions, and the entire process was overseen by an independent adjudicator who compiled the results and feedback.
Categories
Whole turkey
Criteria: A free-range, extra-special whole turkey that will take pride of place on a Christmas Day spread. Turkeys should not come with stuffing or gravy.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco
Ready-made turkey centrepiece
Criteria: A pre-prepared, oven-ready turkey centrepiece. This should be a joint, crown or portion of turkey that has been seasoned, stuffed, wrapped or shaped, and it can also be pre-cooked. This should be a showstopping, shortcut option that feeds four or more people.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Smoked salmon
Criteria: A top-quality smoked fish. We wanted the best, sustainable smoked salmon, served sliced or whole.
Judged entries from: Asda, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Vegan main course
Criteria: A vegan main that’s every bit as tasty as its meat and its vegetarian alternatives (either individually portioned or sharing size, to serve two or more).
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury's, Tesco
Vegetarian main course
Criteria: A meat-free main that’s every bit as tasty as its meat counterparts (either individually portioned or sharing size, to serve two or more).
Judged entries from: Aldi, Booths, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Gammon
Criteria: A raw joint of ham that’s ready to cook on the hob or in the oven.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Cranberry sauce
Criteria: A ready-made cranberry sauce, ready for spooning onto your meal, it could be served in a jar or fresh and be flavoured as long as the primary flavour is cranberry.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Stuffing
Criteria: A pre-prepared festive stuffing that’s ready to cook in the oven or microwave. It should require no pre-mixing and could be vegetarian or contain meat.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Alternative meat centrepiece
Criteria: A meat sharing dish you can carve, for those wanting a break from turkey. The dish could be any red, white or game meat, which serves four or more.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Iceland, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Gravy
Criteria: Gravy that tastes homemade but takes only minutes to prepare. We looked for a fresh gravy that complements the traditional festive dinner (but a vegetarian gravy could be submitted).
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Pigs in blankets
Criteria: Pre-prepared sausages wrapped in bacon, ready to cook in the oven. Variations of pigs in blankets, such as flavours, coatings or unconventional shapes, were permitted.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose & Partners
Mince pies
Criteria: We take mince pies very seriously at BBC Good Food – they’re our most popular online recipe every Christmas. We looked for mince pies made from traditional shortcrust or puff pastry, featuring a fruit filling and a lid. Pies without a pastry lid could have an alternative, such as fruit or crumble, as long as the pie filling is fully enclosed.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Spar, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Gluten-free mince pies
Criteria: Gluten-free mince pies to rival the original, complete with fruit filling and a lid.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco
Panettone
Criteria: The best festive panettone, in either traditional or an alternative flavour.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Christmas cake
Criteria: A traditional Christmas cake, iced or decorated and ready to serve.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose & Partners
Vegan dessert
Criteria: A traffic-stopping vegan pudding with fantastic, multi-dimensional flavours to serve after the main event (can be frozen or fresh and served iced, warm or cold).
Judged entries from: Asda, Iceland, M&S, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Traditional centrepiece dessert
Criteria: A traffic-stopping pudding with fantastic, multi-dimensional flavours and visual appeal, to serve after the main event. It could be frozen or fresh, served iced, warm or cold. Examples include fruit-based desserts such as trifle, pavlova or mousses as we tested chocolate-based desserts separately (see below).
Judged entries from: Aldi, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose & Partners
Chocolate centrepiece dessert
Criteria: A traffic-stopping chocolate-based pudding with fantastic, multi-dimensional flavours and visual appeal, to serve after the main event. It could be frozen or fresh, served iced, warm or cold.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose & Partners
Christmas pudding
Criteria: A traditional, fruity basin pudding that serves four or more, looks great on the table and can be cooked in the pan, oven or microwave.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Spar, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Gluten-free Christmas pudding
Criteria: A gluten-free fruity basin pudding that looks great on the table and can be cooked in the pan, oven or microwave.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Stollen
Criteria: A whole stollen log or individual stollen pieces with strong marzipan flavours, served either dusted or iced.
Judged entries from: Asda, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Yule log
Criteria: A ready-to-eat chocolate Yule log cake which is iced or decorated, and ready to serve.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Sweet canapés
Criteria: Bite-sized desserts to impress party guests. We tested sweet canapés that come ready to serve or cooked from chilled.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Vegan canapés
Criteria: Smart, innovative vegan party nibbles to impress guests. We tested canapés that come ready to serve, assembly-only bites and those that can be cooked from chilled or frozen.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, Iceland, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Vegetarian canapés
Criteria: Smart, innovative vegetarian party nibbles to impress guests. We tested canapés that come ready to serve, assembly-only bites and those that can be cooked from chilled or frozen.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
Savoury canapés (meat or fish)
Criteria: Smart, innovative party nibbles (meat, fish or shellfish) to impress guests. We tested canapés that come ready to serve, assembly-only bites and those that can be cooked from chilled or frozen.
Judged entries from: Aldi, Asda, Booths, Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose & Partners
The results
Find out which products won our taste test...
Good Food Christmas Taste Awards 2019 winners
Comments, questions and tips
