The accolade marks the 11th Great Taste Award presented to Anila’s range of premium curry sauces, chutneys, pickles and dips by The Guild of Fine Foods.
To win such a high rating, up to 20 judges unanimously agreed that the Goan Green Curry Sauce had achieved ‘absolute perfection’.
“The Goan Green Curry Sauce is one of our most popular sauces, and we are thoroughly delighted that the judges of the Great Taste Awards 2010 agree that it’s something very special,” said Anila Vaghela, who founded Anila’s Authentic Sauces in 1997.
“It’s such a versatile and delicious curry sauce, and as it is gluten free, dairy free and with no added sugar, as well as being suitable for vegetarians, it appeals to a very wide range of tastes. We love it, our customers love it and now we’ve had confirmation from The Guild of Fine Foods, which promotes excellence in speciality food.”
The Great Taste Awards are the national benchmark in speciality food and drink, and have been running since 1993.
Made with mint, coriander, spinach and coconut, Anila’s Goan Green Curry Sauce is sold in a range of speciality retailers, delis and farm shops, including Harrods and John Lewis Food Halls at Oxford Street and Bluewater.
It is one of eight premium curry sauces, handmade in small batches, by Anila’s, and is perfect with fish, prawns and vegetables. The firm also produces a range of 16 chutneys, pickles and dips made with single fruits and vegetables.
Previous Great Taste Award winners in the range include three *** Gold Awards for Anila’s Spicy Korma and Spicy Mild curry sauces, and awards for the Chilli Chutney and Tindoori Pickle. The Spicy Korma Curry Sauce also scooped a Free From Food Award in 2009.
Anila’s Authentic Sauces is based in Walton-on-Thames with a unit in Hounslow, and is run by Anila and her husband Dan.
Anila’s cooking has always been popular with friends and family, and in the early 1990s she began selling jars of curry sauce on a very small scale in her local community in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. She sold all 80 jars at her first fair at Weybridge in 1992. Phone calls from very satisfied customers followed, and Anila began fulfilling small orders.
In 1997 she was made redundant from a job as a PA and decided to seize the opportunity to form her own company to develop Anila’s Authentic Sauces.
She carried out extensive research, took expert business advice, and felt there was a gap in the market for high-quality, premium curry sauces. She soon gained a listing in the food hall of her local department store, and before long Anila’s curry sauces were on the shelves of a range of health stores, delicatessens and independent specialist shops.
Anila outgrew her kitchen at home and moved to a catering kitchen in Surbiton in 2002. A year later the business needed larger premises once more, and Anila’s re-located to a 1400 sq ft unit in Hounslow. In 2006, husband Dan also joined the team.
Anila’s products are now sold at John Lewis Oxford Street and John Lewis Bluewater, and top quality gourmet stores, such as Harrods, Wholefoods and Planet Organic, plus hundreds of other outlets that include health food stores, garden centres and gift shops, as well as smaller independent stores such as Budgens at Ascot, Shepperton and Crouch End. Anila’s also sells direct to the public at 28 farmers’ markets across Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, including Guildford, Walton, Windsor, Maidenhead, Ascot, Cobham, Beaconsfield and Farnham, and online via www.anilassauces.com
