Blackpool man has won a Golden Fork award for his Cambodian peppers

Kadode Kampot Pepper UK was crowned this year’s Great Taste Supreme Champion for its Fermented Fresh Green Kampot Peppercorns at the Golden Fork ceremony at Southwark Cathedral, beating 14,000 other food products.

The firm was founded by former Marton man Michael Winters who discovered the taste of the local peppercorns on a trip to Cambodia’s Kampot province in 2008.

In 2012 he teamed up with the local producers FarmLink Ltd and began to import the peppercorns to the UK.

He said: “Having a keen interest in food, I noticed a direct connection between pepper and the various Cambodian national dishes I was eating, such as Beef Lok Lak, Fish Amok, Kampot pepper crab in Kep, and lots of simple fish dishes all enhanced by a basic fresh lime juice and ground pepper dipping sauce.

"Although I've lived and worked in London and South East Asia for many years, I'm still at heart a lad from Marton, Blackpool and proud of my Sandgrown'un heritage.”

The judges in the competition said: “The small, but mighty, peppercorns seriously pack a punch and impressed at every stage of the blind-tasting process, earning Kadode Kampot Pepper UK the highest honour for taste. Described as “an extremely interesting product with a delicate scent of salt on the nose”, the judges enjoyed the “soft crunch of the peppercorns and the layers of flavour that started salty, then fruity then a kick of heat”.

John Farrand, managing director at the Guild of Fine Food said: “I’m impressed, but not surprised, to see a fermented product take home the Supreme Champion trophy this year.

"These Kadode punchy peppercorns are probably one of our most interesting winners to date."