Legendary butcher Allan Bennett is still at the top of his game, after claiming yet another Overall Champion crown at the Butchers Roadshow and Pork Product Excellence Awards, organised by BPEX.
The Codsall butcher was awarded the title for his ‘Traditional Pork Pie’ at the West Midlands event. This was attended by 30 butchers from the region, with 179 products for judges to evaluate.
But he wasn’t the only butcher to claim more than one champion award. Craig Finch Butchers carried away three category champion titles while Cam Family Butchers did the double in the Black Pudding and Ready Meal categories.Allan Bennett said: “We do the job right – it’s not rocket science! All our products are made on the premises using good quality ingredients. We spend time perfecting them to make sure they are the best and the results speak for themselves.“Now is an ideal time for butchers to stand out. As an industry, our customer service is top notch, we know the provenance of our meat and we take pride in our work. These awards couldn’t come at a better time and we’ll use them to our advantage. The certificates go in the window, we have a promotional board outside and samples of the winning products for customers to try before they buy.”For Craig Finch, the feedback from events is invaluable. After achieving gold for his ‘Traditional Pork Sausage’ last year Craig took the judge’s comments on board and returned to see it triumph as category champion. It will now go forward to the Champion of Champions event. Craig, who opened his shop two years ago, said: “Setting up a new business has meant I’ve had to work incredibly hard.
“These events are a fantastic way of showcasing what we do well and getting input from some of the best in the industry at the same time; helping us turn gold award-winning products into champion ones. I’ve also picked up lots of product inspiration. The ‘Pork with Cheddar and Spring Onion Sausage’ which was a Speciality Pork Sausage category champion, for example, was based on a sausage I’d seen at a previous event.”
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