Gilt Taste Announces Collaboration With the Good Food Awards

NEW YORK, Aug. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Gilt Taste (www.gilttaste.com), the new online culinary marketplace and interactive magazine from Gilt Groupe, announced today its sponsorship of the second annual Good Food Awards. The Good Food Awards, a nonprofit program of San Francisco's Seedling Projects, honors the best artisanal foods, producers, and farmers who create delicious, authentic, sustainable products across eight categories: beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, pickles, preserves and spirits.  The collaboration aligns two partners who support local producers and farmers committed to sustainability, and illustrates Gilt Taste's mission to bring the finest ingredients to food enthusiasts across the country. As part of the partnership, members of the Gilt Taste team, including Editorial Advisor Ruth Reichl, will serve as judges during a blind tasting taking place in San Francisco on October 9, 2011.  Following the Good Food Awards Ceremony on January 13, 2012, at the Ferry Building, the winning products, along with the finalists and last year's winners, will be available for the first time nationwide in a dedicated Good Food Awards e-store on www.gilttaste.com.  Additionally, Gilt Taste will be documenting the Awards and creating original editorial content: stories about the winning purveyors and videos about the winners and the Awards events.  

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"We are thrilled to partner with the Good Food Awards," says Ruth Reichl, Gilt Taste Editorial Advisor. "I'm so impressed by what The Awards have accomplished, and they share our mission here at Gilt Taste.  We believe in quality craftsmanship and we're proud to support farmers and local producers, the true heroes in food. With the addition of Good Food Award winners and finalists to our online marketplace, we look forward to providing a platform and community that celebrates artisans and promotes social and environmental responsibility."

"It is a dream to work with Gilt Taste to bring the stories and flavors of the Good Food Award Winners to a broader audience," says Good Food Awards Director Sarah Weiner. "All around the country they are working to redefine the meaning of 'good food,' feeding consumers the idea that delicious should be paired with social responsibility and environmental sustainability. This partnership will support not only the Good Food Award winners, but also the agricultural communities in which they are rooted, from the farmers growing raspberries without pesticides for an award-winning preserve, to the rancher humanely raising pigs to become a winning charcuterie."

More than eighty judges, including Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, Amanda Hesser and many of the nation's top culinary professionals – as well as a few from Gilt Taste – will select the winning entries via a blind tasting on October 9, 2011 at the Hub SoMA, a LEED-certified space in the San Francisco Chronicle Building.  Judges from Gilt Taste include Editorial Advisor Ruth Reichl, Managing Editor Jennifer Pelka, General Manager Shan-Lyn Ma, Divisional Merchandise Manager Adrian Stratton, and Vendor Relations Manager Jennifer Fukui. The Good Food Awards are still accepting entries through September 1, 2011 via their website, www.goodfoodawards.org.

Finalists will be announced on November 11, 2011, and winners in the eight awards categories will be announced at the invitation-only Good Food Awards Ceremony on January 13, 2012 at the iconic Ferry Building.  Following the presentation, guests will celebrate the award recipients at a tasting reception, the first opportunity to experience the flavors from across the country in one gathering. The winning items, marked with the Good Food Awards seal, will then be available in a dedicated Good Food Awards e-store on www.gilttaste.com, along with this year's finalist entries and last year's winners.

On the following day, January 14, 2012, the Good Food Marketplace will be held alongside San Francisco's bustling Saturday morning Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, where the public will be able to taste and buy the Good Food Award-winning products.  This year's Marketplace will also feature a Gilt Taste stall; it will offer a selection of products from the site for consumers to taste and purchase.

Gilt Taste, www.gilttaste.com, which launched in beta in May 2011, offers an ongoing full-priced marketplace of curated artisanal products, as well as thoughtful original editorial content, gorgeous photography, delicious recipes, one-of-a-kind videos and Daily Special sales.  All of Gilt Taste's products are inspired, inspiring, honest and coveted. Ruth Reichl, former editor in chief of Gourmet and restaurant critic of The New York Times, serves as Gilt Taste's Editorial Advisor.  It is a true content-meets-commerce site – a culinary experience that hasn't been available online until now. Users can connect with the farmers and artisans who make and grow the products (many of which have only been available to professional chefs, until now), read intriguing stories and original content, learn where their food comes and how to prepare it for the best results, and then have the products shipped directly to their front doorstep with a single click.  No membership is required to shop the site.

About Gilt Groupe, Inc.

Gilt Groupe, www.gilt.com, is an innovative online shopping destination offering its members special access to the most inspiring merchandise, culinary offerings, and experiences every day, many at insider prices. Gilt continually searches the world for the most coveted brands and products, including fashion for women, men, and children; home decor; artisanal ingredients; hotels and travel experiences on every continent; and unique activities in a growing list of cities and destinations. We believe that every day is an opportunity to inspire and be inspired.

About the Good Food Awards

The Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic, and responsible. Now, in its second year, awards will be given to winners in eight categories: beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, pickles, preserves and spirits. The Good Food Awards Seal, found on winning products, assures consumers they have found something exceptionally delicious that also supports sustainability and social good. The Good Food Awards Gold Seal, new this year, will specially distinguish award winners that are using 100% certified organic ingredients.

About Seedling Projects

The Good Food Awards is a nonprofit project organized by Seedling Projects in collaboration with a broad community of food producers, chefs, food writers and passionate food lovers. Seedling Projects is led by Sarah Weiner and Dominic Phillips, who have united their diverse skills to support the sustainable food movement. Through focused events and strategic models, it engages the public in finding better ways to feed our communities. Find more information at: www.seedlingprojects.org.

SOURCE Gilt Groupe, Inc.