Guiding The Public to Informed Purchase Decisions Based on Taste

Headquartered in San Diego and operating out of the Center for Taste outside San Francisco, we are an organization of culinary and sensory experts with the mission of guiding the public to high-quality food and beverages in a given category.

We Are Entirely Independent

ChefsBest is an independent organization that is not affiliated with any industry trade group or brand. We accept no financial support beyond the fees associated with testing a product and the licensing fee from brands whose product surpassed quality standards and opt to tell the public about it, which is primarily represented by the coveted ChefsBest Medallion. That licensing fee covers a brand’s ability to utilize the prestigious ChefsBest medallion on packaging and within any advertisements including on their websites. It also may allow the brand to make certain advertising claims in accordance with ASTM International (Advancement for Testing and Materials) guidelines.

We Are Not Pay to Play

While we test many products for brands large and small, not all products qualify, and in fact, many do not. Sure, those moments can lead to uncomfortable discussions and disappointment from the brands; it is something that we simply will not compromise on, ever.

A Proven Methodology

Our testing processes are based on industry-accepted sensory evaluation methods led by a team with decades of experience. Identifying high-quality foods is an objective process rooted in the expertise of ChefsBest Master Tasters who have undergone training in sensory acuity and our proprietary methodology. Using this methodology, which we call SAQA (Sensory Attribute Quality Analysis ®), our panel measures perceived intensities and uses each attribute to create a quality definition for a product. Products are then evaluated against this quality definition to determine award qualification. Recipients of the ChefsBest Excellence Award are eligible to use claims like “Award-Winning Taste” and “ChefsBest Excellence Award Recipient”.

Interested in Learning More? Watch Chefs During an Actual Tasting