One of Cardiff’s favourite independent food businesses has received one of the food world’s highest honours, with Matsudai Ramen earning a coveted three-star Great Taste Award for its signature Rayu Chilli Oil.
The accolade is the highest possible rating awarded by the Great Taste Awards, with just 2% of the 15,038 productsentered into this year’s competition receiving the prestigious three-star recognition.
Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, the Great Taste Awards are regarded as the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme. Every product is blind tasted by panels of chefs, food writers, buyers and retailers before receiving its score.
Created in Matsudai’s Cardiff kitchen, the award-winning Rayu Chilli Oil is a chunky, medium-spiced Japanese-style chilli oil made with Korean gochugaru red pepper, Japanese ichimi togarashi, garlic, ginger, sesame and tamari.
The result is a rich blend of smoky, savoury and slightly sweet flavours with a warming kick, making it just as suited to eggs and rice bowls as it is to ramen. The gluten-free condiment has become one of Matsudai’s signature products since first being created as the house chilli oil served in its restaurant.
The judges were full of praise, saying:
“There is an utterly perfect balance of flavours here. The heat level threatens towards hiccups but is reined in at the last second by the sweetness and the savoury and umami notes. There is a backbone of multi-layered sesame throughout. It’s stunning… as good as it gets. The judges had no shame going from tasting to eating!”
Founder James Chant said receiving three stars was a dream come true.
“Three stars is the absolute dream result. We knew we were proud of the Rayu, but to have it recognised at the highest possible level by such an experienced and respected group of independent judges is massive for us.
“It started life as our house chilli oil, designed to bring heat, texture and another layer of savoury flavour to our ramen. But it quickly became something people wanted to put on absolutely everything.
“We have always wanted to show that a specialist ramen business from Wales can create products that stand alongside the best in the UK and beyond. This award will hopefully introduce more people across the country to the products we make here in Cardiff.”
The Rayu Chilli Oil has already earned praise from acclaimed food critic Jay Rayner, who previously described it as having “the kind of heat that almost makes you wish you had a sore throat that it could soothe.”
The award is the latest milestone in Matsudai’s remarkable journey. What began as a series of sold-out pop-up events evolved into a nationwide ramen kit business during the pandemic before the team opened their permanent restaurant in Grangetown.
Since launching, Matsudai has shipped close to 50,000 ramen kit orders across the UK, while continuing to build a loyal following in Cardiff.
The award-winning Matsudai Rayu Chilli Oil is available in 200ml jars for £6.99 through the company’s online shop and can be used to add a punch of flavour to everything from breakfast eggs and stir-fries to grilled meat, vegetables and, of course, a steaming bowl of ramen.
