Industry achievers recognised at Institute of Meat Awards
The Institute of Meat (IoM) and Worshipful Company of Butchers’ (WCB) Annual Prizegiving took place today (22nd February) at London’s Painters’ Hall.
In a tradition that dates back over 25 years, representatives of the meat industry gathered to celebrate excellence amongst its own, at the IoM and WCB Annual Prizegiving. The event took place at The Painters’ Hall in London and was attended by over a hundred guests.
The IoM Awards winners.
The prizegiving was established to reward the achievements of butchers, their employers and training providers throughout the UK. A total of 13 awards were presented; this year seeing the first Best Abattoir Worker achieving WATOK Award, in recognition of the importance of this element of the industry.
The overall winner, was James Taylor, employed by Simpsons Butchers, Sleaford, and trained by Meat Ipswich. He receives a year’s honorary membership of the IoM and a cash prize of £500.
IoM chief executive, Keith Fisher, said: “James embodies tomorrow’s generation of highly skilled craft butchers. For a young man in his early twenties he has already achieved so much; his accolades include a gold medal at WorldSkills UK Butchery competition last year. He is creative, precise and ambitious – a deserving winner indeed.”
In recognition of the skills and high standards upheld by more experienced butchers, eight professional butchers were also awarded IoM Accredited Master Butcher status. They were: Martin McIntyre, Simon Bennett, Sue Winders, Henry McAlonan, Mike Roach, Kevin Culverwell, Arthur Burke and Thomas Hughes.
Bill Jermey, chairman of the IoM, added: “It is our mission at the IoM to encourage, inspire and reward; this is at the heart of the Prizegiving event. I’m especially delighted to see our colleagues in the abattoir sector joining the event this year. I hope that with the new abattoir apprenticeship standard now approved we’ll see more nominations for abattoir workers in the years to come.”
The categories and prize winners were:
- Best New Apprentice Progressing on a Trailblazer Standard – MEAT Ipswich – Harvey Woolgar
- Best Retail Butchery Student – MEAT Ipswich – Elsie Yardley
- Best Meat Processing Student – Dunbia Training Academy – Joshua Bridges
- Best Poultry Industry Student – Southern Regional College – Sinead McVeigh
- Best Independent Retail Meat Apprentice – MEAT Ipswich – James Taylor
- Best Meat Manufacturing Apprentice – MEAT Ipswich – Dawid Waszkiewicz
- Best Abattoir Worker who has achieved WATOK in 2017 – Fast Forward Vets Ltd – Karl Eastoe
- Meat Apprentice Showing Most Management Promise – Remit Training – Luke Petts
- Best Company Training Scheme – Crosby Butchery Training – Booker Group
- Best Meat Training Provider of the Year (partnered by Meat Management) – Crosby Butchery Training – Crosby Butchery Training
- Lord Graham Endeavour Award – MEAT Ipswich – Michael Brett
- Champion Meat Apprentice of the Year – MEAT Ipswich/Simpsons Butchers – James Taylor
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