Our Hazelnut gelato has just been awarded a Great Taste 3-star — the highest accolade the Guild of Fine Food gives out, and one that goes to a genuinely small fraction of everything entered. Shop Hazelnut gelato here.
Why this one matters
Annie actually judges for Great Taste herself — not Baboo's own products, obviously, but she does judge other ice cream and gelato entries. She knows exactly how the process works from the other side of the table. Judges taste blind, in small groups, with nothing to go on but the product itself: no packaging, no brand name, no price. Just ingredients, method of production and country of origin, and then whatever ends up in front of them on a spoon.
She was judging over three days recently, alongside her fellow panellists, tasting around 450 products between them. Only two were given a 3-star award. That's the company our Hazelnut gelato is now keeping — not "very good," not "above average," but judged faultless by a room of people whose job is to be extremely hard to impress. Across Great Taste as a whole, only around 2% of everything entered each year makes it to three stars, so this isn't a rosette they hand out lightly.
This is our fourth flavour to win a Great Taste 3-star — the awards' highest rating. Double chocolate gelato (2024), Mint choc chip gelato and Crystallised ginger gelato (both 2025) got there first, and now Hazelnut gelato has joined them.
More than that, it means we've won at least one Great Taste 3-star in each of the last three consecutive years — 2024, 2025 and 2026. Winning one at all is rare; winning one three years running is understood to be almost unheard of. Only three companies across the whole of Great Taste — every category of food and drink, not just ours — managed a 3-star win in all three of those years, and as far as we've been able to find, we're the only ice cream or gelato producer among them. We're not aware of anyone else who's managed that, and we've looked. If you know differently, we'd genuinely like to hear about it — but for now, we're rather pleased with ourselves.
Where the hazelnut actually comes from
Our hazelnut paste comes from Italy's Piedmont region — specifically a small producer located in the heart of Langhe, which is the PDO region for hazelnuts thanks to its perfect altitude and climate. We tasted at least twenty different pastes before we landed on the one we use now. It wasn't a quick decision. What settled it was the depth of flavour and the way it lingers rather than disappearing after the first spoonful.
The paste arrives at the Lab as fresh as we can get it, and it makes the whole place smell extraordinary for days afterwards.
What the judges said
Great Taste judges taste blind and write their notes on the spot, so this is exactly what a room of people with no idea whose gelato they were eating made of it:
"There were enticing nutty notes on the nose and this followed through to hit the palate and deliver a nutty punch. The creamy richness melted away, allowing the toasted nuts to shine, with a gentle bitter finish from the nut skin. The intensity of the hazelnuts packed a huge punch and melded with the creaminess perfectly.
A beautiful rich creamy colour, and a fine glossy sheen. The texture is velvety smooth with an incredible elasticity. The nose is unmistakably of toasted hazelnuts. The flavour is luxurious, rich, authentic and perfectly balanced. A wonderful gelato."
More hazelnut to come
This is the start of a few weeks of hazelnut content from us — including a waffle recipe using Hazelnut gelato that we suspect the kids in your life will have strong opinions about. Keep an eye out.
Hazelnut gelato wasn't alone this year, either — Pistachio gelato picked up a 2-star, and both Hot Cross Bun gelato and Raspberry Baboo bonbon (from our Baboos gift range) took home a 1-star. More on those soon.