Delight for Market Drayton's Fordhall Farm Shop after winning prestigious Golden Fork for Sustainability award

Fordhall Farm Shop has been named the winner of the 'Golden Fork for Sustainability' award 2025.

The award was presented by the Guild of Fine Food during a glittering ceremony at the Battersea Arts Centre in London on Tuesday evening (September 9), marking the culmination of this year’s Great Taste Awards - widely regarded as the world’s most trusted food and drink awards scheme.

From a staggering 14,340 entries across 110 countries, only 273 products were awarded the prestigious Great Taste three-star rating. Fordhall Farm Shop’s pasture-fed Gloucester Old Spot Pork Shoulder was one of those few - earning it an exclusive invitation to be considered for the Golden Fork awards.

Across Shropshire, 54 Great Taste awards were given to businesses. Seven of those were given to Ludlow Farmshop and Telford online butcher and farm shop Dukeshill Ham Company, while Oswestry's Niche Patisserie also had a fantastic year, with four of its products awarded one stars.

While Great Taste is judged primarily on flavour, the Golden Fork for Sustainability award goes a step further, recognising businesses that go above and beyond through sustainable practices.

In 2006, Fordhall Farm was placed into community ownership when siblings Charlotte and Ben fought to save their family home and its organic heritage. The landowner wanted to sell the land for development, but Charlotte and Ben’s passion and determination resulted in a national community of more than 8,000 people purchasing the farm and placing it into community ownership for perpetuity. 

Ben and his team have continued to build the farm and farm shop business, overseeing initiatives that champion organic farming, including a nose-to-tail butchery ethos, biodegradable packaging and green energy.

The tenant farmer said: "As a producer, we are often recognised for the food we make, but this is something entirely different. This award for us acknowledges our long history with organic farming; being one of the first certified farms in the country with over 75 years of heritage started by my late father, Arthur Hollins. 

"Our foggage farming system of grazing cattle and sheep year-round on diverse pastures is an integral part of what we do and it’s great for everybody’s hard work to be acknowledged in this way. 

"I am proud to be continuing dad’s foggage farming system which celebrates the connections between soil health, our livestock, biodiversity and great tasting produce at the end. Farming at Fordhall is a privilege.

"We passionately believe we should add value ourselves to everything we produce on the farm in the most sustainable way we can. Cutting out all the middleman is what makes our farm to fork ethos work for our family-run farm.

“This nomination is a real celebration of the sacrifice and hard work that goes into every day on the farm. We do our best to explain to our customers what we do and to ensure transparency throughout, even bringing all these details to customers nationwide through our online shop. To have reached this level, and to have been independently verified and recognised by something much bigger than ourselves is so important.

“Being a Golden Fork winner is truly the pinnacle of the Great Taste awards – and we couldn’t be prouder! We’d like to thank all our customers and community who support our approach to farming and I’d also like to thank Partridges, London who sponsored our award and presented to us on the night.”