AN ABERDEEN producer of smoked salmon has scooped a top prize at this year’s Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Awards.

John Ross Jr (Aberdeen) was awarded the coveted gold star rating for its Traditional Smoked Salmon and Smoked Salmon Pâté following a rigorous judging process by 350 judges, who blind-tested over 6,000 food and drink products.

Headquartered in Surrey with a Smokehouse in Aberdeen, John Ross Jr has been traditionally smoking Scottish salmon for over 150 years and is one of the last remaining producers to use traditional red brick kilns.

On receiving the award, chief executive Andrew Leigh said: “Recognition from the Guild is a great honour. Producing the finest Scottish smoked salmon using a time-honoured smoking process means that we stand out from other producers and this award is testament to that. We’re delighted to receive the Gold Star Rating, proud to be supported by some of the industry’s most revered food connoisseurs and remain committed to producing a world-class product.”

John Ross Jr is a holder of the Royal Warrant and supplies hotels worldwide. In the UK, it supplies restaurants including Gary Rhodes’ Rhodes 24 and the Intercontinental Park in London.

The Guild of Fine Food’s Bob Farrand said: “It’s so exciting to see the standards of food and drink in the British Isles go from strength to strength, year after year, proving that for those who enjoy great food it’s there to be discovered.

“We have worked hard to ensure our judging process is as robust as possible. Judging teams are balanced in terms of experience, background and even gender and every Gold Award winning entry has been independently proven to be of the highest standard.”

The judging panel for this year’s Great Taste Awards included food critics, chefs, deli and farm shop owners, food producers and buyers.