Torclum wins best storytelling at the World Food Gift Challenge 2023

On Thursday 27 April, the Ktima Akrani winery in Kos (South Aegean, Greece) hosted the World Food Gift Challenge 2023 awards run by IGCAT (International Institute for Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism).

The The World Food Gift Challenge is a competition that rewards and gives international visibility to high-quality foods, artisans and food-related crafts from the European and World Regions of Gastronomy. It allows local producers in those regions to capitalise on visitors' growing demand for exceptional local foods and food-related artisan offerings, their search for authenticity and uniqueness, and increased attention to sustainable products.

The awards brought together 29 finalist products from various World and European Regions of Gastronomy such as Slovenia, Menorca, Hauts-de-France, Saimaa and Aseer.

The day involved an intensive assessment process to identify exemplary, unique food gifts against criteria such as taste, sustainability of materials, appeal, price, connection with the region and territory they come from, corporate narrative, product creativity and innovation in techniques.

Torclum won the Best Storytelling prize for its "Masia" product, which includes 12 bottles of organic extra virgin olive oil with local aromas: garlic, mushrooms, black truffle, white truffle, thyme, rosemary, basil, carob, orange and lemon.

The jury chair, Wendy Barrie , said that "Torclum's Masia represents far more than a magnificent organic extra virgin olive oil. It tells the story of a whole territory (Baix Penedès) in a very special and creative way through the different aromas of its countryside: thyme, rosemary, basil, carob, orange, lemon. We highlight the narrative and storytelling that accompanies these oils in the form of a masia, the most typical representation of Catalan rural architecture".

Esther Andreu, co-founder of Torclum with Jordi Pascual, said on hearing the jury's decision that it brought "great satisfaction at  this international award, which recognises the work and motivates us to keep going", explaining that "when we created this pack we wanted, besides showing our oils, to tell the story of the culture, traditions, work and country we come from".

The other award categories were:

• Best Contemporary Interpretation of Traditional Craft: Per Molts d'Anys (For Many Years Ahead!) by Núria Deyà (Menorca).
• Best Promotion of the Region: Afternoon Tea by Smaker Fra Øyriket (Trondheim).
• Best Tasting: Aseer Taste by Tahlal / Abdullah Al-Jurashi (Aseer).
• Most Ecological Choice: An Apple, A Bee and A Tree by Tjaša Mesinger (Slovenia).
• Most Sustainable Packaging: Plates of Mette from Norway by Mette Brasøy (Trondheim-Trøndelag).
• Most Creative Branding: Table Cannonballs by Aequo, designed by ALL (Hauts-de-France).

The three overall prizes were:

• First prize. Illa de Mel (Menorca).
• Second prize. Nokiakka Jams by Nokiakka (Saimaa).
• Third prize. Melekouni P.G.I. by Filema Rodion (South Aegean).