Blog

This year again, we are the most successful Czech company in the GREAT TASTE competition! The judges have long appreciated mainly the quality and flavor of all our fresh Kampot peppers and pepper specialties, which we develop as the only ones in the world. And that is why this year we received an incredible 25 stars for our products, which is also our personal record. And along with that, a nomination for the GOLDEN FORK. The expert jury of the Guild of Fine Food in London awarded three of our products the highest rating - 3 stars. Out of 13,647 samples from all over the world, only 266 products (1.9%) achieved this. And what did the judges say about our peppers?  3 stars for 3 of our products Fermented salted Kampot pepper "Salty taste with umami tones. " "Not all peppers are equal, and fermented Kampot is the true king. " Green freeze-dried Kampot pepper "Kampot pepper in its best form. " "The flavor profile of fresh grass, green tea, and citrus is exactly right. " We still consider the green freeze-dried pepper our flagship. It won the GOLDEN FORK in 2021, making us the first Czech company in the history of the competition to receive this gastronomic Oscar. Our fermented salted Kampot pepper advanced to the elite TOP 30 products out of a total of 14,647 competing for the GOLDEN FORK. This is the second time we have the chance to show the world how exceptional Kampot pepper we import to the Czech Republic and the entire EU.   We were also extremely pleased that after one star, the judges awarded our delicacies as well: pepper gin from Žufánek and protein chips with black pepper and lime! Žufánek is a great success because the gin category has huge competition. Besides our fresh peppers, dried peppers for grinders and sea pyramid salt also scored well. Complete list ⭐⭐⭐ Fermented salted Kampot pepper⭐⭐⭐ Green freeze-dried Kampot pepper⭐⭐⭐ Caramelade with red Kampot pepper⭐⭐ Green Kampot pepper in sea salt flower⭐⭐ Lyophilized flakes of fermented Kampot pepper⭐⭐ Sea Salt Flakes - salt pyramids⭐⭐ Red lyophilized Kampot pepper⭐ Black Kampot pepper⭐ Red Kampot pepper⭐ White Kampot pepper⭐ Kampot pepper dark red⭐ Pepper gin by Martin Žufánek⭐ Protein chips with black Kampot pepper and lime 2 stars for exceptional taste were also awarded to MarmelLady for her marmalade made from blood orange with our red Kampot pepper. You can taste this and her other amazing jams and marmalades in our gift sets.

The annual announcement of the Les Epicures de L'Annee 2022 awards is behind us. We are overjoyed because our French colleague Teddy from Paris brought home the top honor – first place for the best French gastro e-shop of the year for .pepper..field!

Do you enjoy food with refined taste and the highest quality? Of course, you can find a wide range of manufacturers or traders on the market who do not spare praise for their products. However, these words are not always backed by truth and often it is just a marketing strategy aimed at one thing: selling. So how to recognize a truly quality product? Quality guarantee for the customer The answer to this question can be the Great Taste award. This award can be compared to some kind of Oscar of the gastronomy world or Michelin stars in the world of gastronomic establishments. It is basically an accreditation system that gives the consumer certainty that the product they are buying meets the highest quality standards. Whether the registered product is awarded the Great Taste star is decided by a jury composed of more than 500 highly respected experts – called the Guild of Fine Food. They can award the product one, two, or even three stars if it is truly an exceptional gastronomic experience. However, the product can also leave empty-handed if it does not appeal. What exactly does the number of stars mean? 1 star: simply deliciousThis is a product that stands out with its fantastic taste. According to the Guild of Fine Food jury, about 25% of all registered products receive their star. 2 stars: extraordinaryAn exceptionally tasty food. Less than 10% of registered products receive this rating. 3 stars: outstandingAn unusually delicate and tasty product! Every year, only 2% of registered foods worldwide receive this rating. The jury themselves recommend that you definitely do not leave the store without purchasing it. How many stars can you find with us? Since last year's competition edition, we can boast several Great Taste stars. For example, our dark red Kampot pepper has them. Our freeze-dried pepper achieved the greatest success on a global scale. Not only did it receive a report card shining with three stars, but we also managed to achieve the highest award that can be obtained in the world of gastronomy. If we mentioned that Great Taste can be perceived as the gastronomic equivalent of the film Oscars, then the golden statue that every entrant wishes to take home from the competition is the so-called Golden Fork. It is awarded to the best of the best, and in last year’s edition, only 14 out of more than 14,000 registered products from 108 countries worldwide received it. Our freeze-dried pepper was one of them. What captivated the judges about this freeze-dried green pepper so much? Try it yourself!

It is almost unbelievable how the quality of food can reflect in our everyday life. Quality food influences the quality of prepared dishes, which naturally affects overall health, both physical and mental condition. But how to recognize which products and ingredients are truly the quality ones? For example, by the so-called Golden Fork. Movie stars receive a golden statue, gastronomic forks If we were to describe the Golden Fork award, the best comparison would be to the famous Oscars. While the ticket to the Oscars gala evening is a nomination from the Film Academy, in the case of the Golden Fork, the nomination is obtained by earning three stars in the Great Taste competition, which is exactly what the Golden Fork awards. Who receives the three stars is decided by a jury composed of 500 jurors. They then select the best of the best, who are awarded the Golden Fork. Until last year, you would not have found any Czech gastronomic product that achieved this highest award. However, last year we managed the almost impossible and out of more than 14,000 products, we became one of the 14 awarded with the Golden Fork statue. Read the full article on how it all actually happened. A world unique item you won’t find anywhere else We received this highest award in the world of gastronomy for our freeze-dried green Kampot pepper. What the jury appreciated about it was not only its extraordinary taste but overall they were impressed by the philosophy of our brand .pepper..field. In the world, there are not many foods where you can be sure that by purchasing them you directly support the farmers who grew them on their plantations behind their modest homes. By buying pepper from .pepper..field, you directly influence the lives of Cambodians in the most positive sense of the word. It guarantees them a higher standard of living, which in their case means a regular supply of food, access to medical care for themselves and their whole family, and the opportunity to provide education for their children. And that is the greatest reward for us, overshadowing even the golden shine of the gastronomic Golden Fork award.

It is Sunday afternoon and at the trade fair in Yorkshire County, England, the jury of the Guild of Fine Food announces the final results of the Golden Fork, the highest gastronomic trophy that can be won in a worldwide competition. A total of 14,113 products from 108 countries around the world entered the competition, and only 14 of them will achieve this symbolic gastronomic Oscar. Among the global competition consisting of the best rums from South America or renowned Norwegian cheeses is also our freeze-dried pepper. "It is not often that a newcomer receives such a high award in the competition, " we hear from the surrounding experienced competitors. We nervously wait for the result until the last moment. And then it comes. Our freeze-dried pepper has officially become the best and most golden in the world! In the entire 27-year history of the Great Taste Awards competition, no other product from the Czech Republic has ever won this trophy. More than 500 jurors of the Guild of Fine Food evaluate all the products entered into the competition over two months. Each is carefully tasted blind by top chefs, buyers, sellers, restaurateurs, and food critics. The foods are then rated with one, two, and three stars. Among the global competition, it is very rare to find 3 stars for Czech products. This year, two types of our Kampot pepper could boast the Great Taste award, which is itself a great global success. It has never happened before that a Czech product achieved even higher and confirmed its nomination for the Golden Fork. And then we came. We are now officially the only holders of this globally recognized gastronomic trophy thanks to our freeze-dried green Kampot pepper, which we freeze-dry on Czech machines with a unique recipe. Confirmed – our pepper is really the best in the world Jurors in the Great Taste Awards competition look for truly excellent taste regardless of brand or packaging. With our freeze-dried pepper, they can find not only that – it is a worldwide unique product. “At the beginning, there was a desire to bring truly fresh pepper to Europe. Its delicate taste, when the still green pepper is picked from the pepper vine,” describes our Lukáš, co-founder of the brand. In order for a product to be nominated for the Golden Fork award at all, it must win 3 stars at the Great Taste, which were announced this September. Out of 218 products awarded this way, 33 later achieved a Golden Fork nomination – and the nomination itself meant a huge success for us. Only 14 awarded foods worldwide ultimately won. Absolutely special and unique food, this is the final verdict of the strict Guild of Fine Food jury. With our Kampot pepper, you also know that you are buying in a maximally fair way and supporting a good cause. „ It is an indescribable feeling to be ranked among the world's top foods such as the best cheeses, virgin olive oils, or delicacies like oysters. It is an honor for us and we are sure that fresh freeze-dried Kampot pepper definitely belongs among them,“ agree Lukáš and Lenka, both co-founders of our brand and this year's proud exhibitors of freeze-dried pepper in England. We conquered the global competition and can thus help more people Since 2018, when we founded the project, we have supported over 200 small farming families in the Kampot region of Cambodia by purchasing Kampot pepper in the fairest and most sustainable way. In the same year, the Czech Development Agency joined our project and helped us develop freeze-dried pepper as part of a development program thanks to the purchase of Czech machines from LYOTRADE, on which we then further freeze-dry fresh pepper. What you will receive from us is real authentic Cambodia, and in return, you can be sure that you are helping specific people live a quality life even in other parts of the world. „When you treat pepper this way, it only needs to be soaked at home in oil or any liquid, and the pellet will absorb moisture again and return to the same form it was in just before being picked,“ explains our Klára, co-founder of the brand. „We wanted to deliberately develop a product in the Czech Republic that no one else in the world has and thanks to which our farming families can be competitive with large foreign farms that currently dominate the Kampot region,“ she adds with a smile. Actions speak louder than words The fact that we really help and try to change the world for the better is also proven by our this year's win in the SDG Awards, where the Association of Social Responsibility recognized us as the second-best company in the Business category. As one of the most sustainable companies in the Czech Republic, we set even higher goals for ourselves in the future to help Cambodian farming families thanks to our gradual expansion into foreign markets this year and in the following years.

This year, we have once again confirmed that at .pepper..field we can creatively and innovatively solve sustainable development problems not only in the Czech Republic but also worldwide! The SDGs Awards have been held for the fifth year under the auspices of the Association of Social Responsibility, which recognizes projects fulfilling the UN's global goals. In five categories, 238 projects competed for first place this year, and we just received 2nd place in the Business category. Are you happy? We are immensely! Our story began in 2018 Even then, we had a significant goal – to support up to 400 farming families in the Kampot region of Cambodia by purchasing Kampot pepper in the fairest and most sustainable way. It soon became clear that the most important thing was to support small farmers and improve their competitiveness in a market dominated by large foreign farms. From the beginning, we have been buying pepper from them at 100% fair trade prices. This ensures economic self-sufficiency and growth not only for them but for the entire region. In the same year, the Czech Development Agency joined our project, helping with financing technological development and purchasing Czech machines for these farms. This gave them another advantage in the market. We continue to collaborate with the Czech Development Agency today. We are far from finished, and many more goals and ideas are forming in our minds on how to improve life in Cambodia. From 250 kg of pepper to 10 tons of pepper annually This number means that in 2021, we purchased 50% of the production from small Cambodian farmers, effectively supporting more than 200 families. They now use the funds for children's schooling, basic healthcare, or protecting their pepper production. In 2022, our goal is to purchase 100% of the production, which is about 20 to 30 tons, and expand globally. These are large numbers but an even greater responsibility for all those specific families whose dignified lives we ensure through our business. In 2020, for this work, we received an honorary recognition from Mr. Sorasak – the Cambodian Minister of Commerce –. Economically self-sufficient Cambodia We realize that we are a global unique case. Not only do we buy Kampot pepper under fair and direct trade conditions, but we are also one of the largest processors in the region – now helping more than 200 families live a quality life! Our potential for the future is even greater. We want to expand our support among medium and larger farms and buy 100% of the Kampot pepper production. Improving living conditions in Cambodia is our long-term goal. In 2018, most small Cambodian farms were on the brink of poverty. They even considered letting their fields with Kampot pepper permanently disappear. We are glad that thanks to the launch of our project, this did not happen. Together, we are truly succeeding in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. And this is also thanks to you! Thank you!