Four Great Taste 2026 Stars for Truly Gourmet Tempeh Chips

They didn’t know it was us.

That’s the part worth understanding about Great Taste. When you enter, your product arrives at a judging table in the UK stripped of its packaging — no logo, no brand name, no country of origin, no story about fermented soybeans or a small factory in Balakong Jaya. Just the food, on a plate, in front of people who taste for a living.

They can’t be charmed. They can only be convinced.

On 28 July 2026, the results came back. Four Truly Gourmet flavours were awarded a Great Taste star: Sea Salt, Sea Salt Light, Black Pepper, and Cumin.

Why we entered the one award we couldn’t influence

We’ve been fortunate with awards before. Sea Salt took Monde Selection Gold and a 2-star Superior Taste Award in 2025. Garlic followed with both in 2026.

But Great Taste is different in a specific way, and it’s the reason we wanted it most.

Run by the Guild of Fine Food, it’s judged entirely blind by a panel of over 500 food and drink experts — chefs, buyers, critics, retailers. Each product passes across several judging tables to make sure there’s genuine consensus rather than one table’s opinion. And every entrant receives written feedback, whether they win or not.

That last detail is the one that mattered to us. We didn’t enter for a sticker. We entered because we wanted to know what people with no reason to be kind actually thought of our chips.

What the judges said

Sea Salt

The flavour that started everything. The judges noted the soybean pieces distributed through the crisps, an aroma with a hint of toasted chocolate caramel, and what they described as a dual texture: an initial crunch giving way to a chew. One table called them:

“interesting, surprising and quite delicious.”

Another found the fragments uneven in proportion yet consistent in thickness, with a satisfying crunch and savoury, nutty, umami notes. (result here)

Sea Salt Light

Our gentlest seasoning, and quietly the one that drew the warmest response. The judges picked up a discernible fermented aroma and called it an innovative, unusual product with a well-balanced level of seasoning. Then came the line we didn’t expect:

“Unlike a potato crisp, there is no greasiness, and a pleasing cleanness to the eat.”

Great Taste 2026 judging panel

We’ve spent years explaining that a tempeh chip is not a potato chip. It turns out you can also just let someone taste one. (result here)

Black Pepper

Described as intriguing tempeh crisps with a light crunch, a slightly nutty flavour and good salinity without being over-salty. The judges liked them as an alternative savoury snack, and noted the bake was even and light. (vresult here)

Cumin

The judges found the cumin subtle rather than dominating, a flavour that ebbs and flows across the palate and supports rather than overpowers. One table called them “a total delight” and “quite outstanding,” praising two distinct textures working in harmony — the inclusions and the crisp. (result here)

The part most brands don’t publish

The feedback wasn’t all glowing, and we’d rather tell you that ourselves than have you assume otherwise.

One judging table found our Sea Salt’s aroma musty and the flavour lacking richness, and said plainly that it needed more salt and more of the nutty tempeh character. Another table found Cumin underwhelming and wondered whether a pinch of salt would help. On Black Pepper, the judges suspected the seasoning distribution was uneven.

We’re keeping those notes. Not framing them — keeping them.

Because a naturally fermented product genuinely does vary batch to batch, and because seasoning consistency is exactly the kind of thing a small producer has to earn rather than assume. Two separate tables independently reaching for the salt shaker is not a coincidence. It’s a to-do list.

Where this leaves us

Truly Gourmet now holds eight international awards across five of our eight flavours, all earned since 2025:

Chives, Onion and Indonesian Classic haven’t been entered yet. Their turn is coming.

The chips themselves haven’t changed

They’re still what they were before anyone put a star on them: thin, pale rounds of naturally fermented tempeh with real soybean pieces you can see. Gluten-free. Vegan. Suitable for vegetarians. Cholesterol-free. Trans fat-free. High in protein. A good source of fibre.

Natural clean taste, real ingredients — which is a much easier sentence to write now that a room full of British food experts has independently arrived at roughly the same conclusion with our name hidden from them.

Indulge Without Guilt.

Shop the four award-winning flavours

Great Taste 2026 results announced 28 July 2026 by the Guild of Fine Food. Sea Salt, Sea Salt Light, Black Pepper and Cumin Tempeh Chips each awarded 1 star.