Mary O’Callaghan, President of the Irish Guild of Sommeliers is one of our  “first-hour” jury members.   She has been member of iTQi’s Superior Taste Award jury since the beginning and makes sure to have no other obligations during the three days in May where the drink tests take place.

 

These obligations include sometimes   very important functions, like State banquets where she is in the company of Heads of State as depicted on the website of the Irish Guild of Sommeliers.

 

However, at the International Taste & Quality Institute, she joins fellow colleagues from 13 European  countries for a serious work of tasting drinks and beverages coming from all over the world:   some very well known like waters or teas, some unusual ones like soft drinks based on milk or unknown drinks coming from far away countries and which need a specific preparation.

At work as a Jury-member for the drink testing at iTQi.

Good show Mary, and thank you for your professionalism during our tasting sessions.

Getting bored of the so many competitions and awards one can register its products to without knowing exactly how serious they are?   Here is a easy to read, straight to the point, no frills  presentation of what the International Taste & Quality Institute is all about and how serious and neutral the jury’s act.  It explains eventually how worthful a Superior Taste Award can be for your Quality Manager (to improve your products), for the sales executives (fantastic sales argument) and for the marketing department (a great communication tool) .   Special thanks to our trainee Alexandra who, as a communication graduate,  was able to summarize all the wheareabouts of our organization in an enjoyable and attractive way .

An interesting interview of Mr Jean-Louis Sohet, International Marketing Manager which shows the main reasons why, after having had successful awarded products in the past years (see  here), the company decided to enter a wide range of products again this year.

This year, next to the usual presentation of the tasting sessions itself, we included escerpts of some conversations we had with producers form Japan, Spain and Belgium , who told us how a Superior Taste Award can bring lot of added value to their products.

This new video will be standard on our website from now on.   But here you can see it already in internet Premiere.   The world premiere showing of it took place at the Awards Ceremony of the 26th of May, in Brussels, Belgium.

Please do not hesitate to post your comments, to say waht you like and what you dislike, to give us some suggestions …  Have a nice time.

Matteo Ghiringhelli, best Sommelier of Italy, third of the European Championship, is dreaming of a world title.   He is since 3 years one of  the the panel members of the  drink jury at iTQi.

read article on him published in Le Figaro Magazine of 16 april 2011 (only in French)

Back in June 2010, Louis Frère got interviewed on La Première, Belgium’s first national radiophonic station.


Listen to that interview, along with some pictures from the 2010 Tasting Sessions.


We hope you enjoy watching!

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Did you know? The International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) is getting social. As from now, you can find us on Linked-In, Facebook and Twitter to make sure you’re up to date on the Institute’s latest activities and events!

The International Taste & Quality Institute prides itself on its very large and diverse panels of chefs, sommeliers and drink experts from all over Europe. As every year our 120 Taste Experts meet in Brussels to taste more than 160 products, we thought it would be appropriate for you to get to know our teams.

This week, we’re introducing you to Euro-Toques, a key partner of the Institute in Tasting and Awarding products from around the world.

The Defence of European Culinary Heritage: an objective for a way of life

Euro-Toques is a European organisation based in Brussels which regroups more than 4000 cooks and chefs from all over Europe and the World. In its 25 years of activity, Euro-Toques has made Food and its quality its top priorities and today actively lobbies, through its network of professionals who all adhere to a strict “code of honor”, for the preservation of the natural qualities and local properties of food.


In short, Euro-Toques aims at taking all necessary actions to:
* protect Quality and Flavour of foods.
* promote the Know-how of food Craftsmen.
* facilitate exchanges between chefs throughout Europe.
* perpetuate Cultures and culinary traditions.
* raise consumer awareness through education and good eating habits.
* promote health through the assurance of healthy food regarding chemical additives in food products and to promote natural, seasonal combinations
* not compromise by means of new methods which are liable to generate a health risk or to alter the taste of foods.
* make a commitment in favour of correct labelling and informations to give consumers relevant information needed to make responsible choices.
* protect European Culinary Heritage in its diversity, origins and typicality.


It is very naturally that the International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) found in Euro-Toques a strategic ally in its mission: “To taste, promote and reward Superior Tasting Food”. Today, Euro-Toques contributes enormously in the Institute’s panels of Chefs and Sommeliers and provide the institute with precious information about the state of the Industry.


You can find more information about Euro-Toques on their website: http://www.euro-toques.org/

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Thank you for reading!


Don’t hesitate to leave a comment on this article using the button below! We’re always interested in knowing what you think!


You can also make sure you never miss a single post by registering our blog’s RSS feed in your favourite online RSS reader or email program.


Did you know? The International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) is getting social. As from now, you can find us on Linked-In, Facebook and Twitter to make sure you’re up to date on the Institute’s latest activities and events!

Exceptional news for the Institute!

Matteo Ghiringhelli, member of the Associazione della Sommellerie Professionale Italiana and regular participant at iTQi’s tasting panels and “Chef Sommelier” at Milan “Wine” in Paris, was recently awarded the title of “Best Sommelier of Italy”. During the competition, his expertise was recognised by a group of peers and wine experts from all over Italy.

His ambitions don’t stop in Italy, however, as he well be soon competing for the title of Best Sommelier of Europe.

We’re extremely proud, at the Institute, to have Matteo as a member of our Taste Experts Team and are happy to celebrate his achievement.


We wish him, of course, all the best for his next challenge!

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Thank you for reading!


Don’t hesitate to leave a comment on this article using the button below! We’re always interested in knowing what you think!


You can also make sure you never miss a single post by registering our blog’s RSS feed in your favourite online RSS reader or email program.


Did you know? The International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) is getting social. As from now, you can find us on Linked-In, Facebook and Twitter to make sure you’re up to date on the Institute’s latest activities and events!