As part of the run up to the Meat Management Awards 2021, hosted at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on 9th September, we take a look at the three finalists for one of the industry’s most prestigious prizes.
Following a very successful online broadcast last year, the Meat Management Industry Awards makes a welcome return to an in-person event at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel on 9th September. This year the presentations will take place as part of a black-tie dinner, hosted by football legend Kevin Keegan OBE.
The annual Awards ceremony will see the best of the best from the UK meat sector rewarded for their hard work, innovation, products and service. This includes the award for Britain's Best Butcher's Shop, presented to a business that has made a real impact on their trade.
Aston’s of Coven, Wolverhampton
The Coven farm shop is situated in a tranquil nook of a street, just off the northern end of the busy M6 toll road. There, Brian Bates and his team sell their traditional fare, which includes a selection of homemade sausages and maple cured bacon. Brian, who has owned and operated the shop for the last 10 years, is proud of what they have to offer; the company’s maxim is, after all, “if you wouldn’t buy it yourself then don’t expect anyone else to!”
In a barn adjacent to the butcher's, Brian’s wife now runs a fruit and veg shop that has proven a real success with customers. With a butcher's shop on one side and a grocer's on the other, Aston’s of Coven are ensuring all their customers’ food needs are met.
“When we received the phone call to say we were finalists for the Butcher's Shop of the Year Award, we were all over the moon,” Brian told Meat Management. “It shows that we are doing something right. It’s been difficult to keep it a secret.”
Brian added: “If we are lucky enough to win the award it would be the icing on the cake of all the hard work that has been put in by the staff in the butcher's and the veg barn. To be nominated is a triumph, but to win would take the business to a completely new level. We are starting our 10th year in business, what a way to start.”
Tim Potter Son and Daughter Ltd, Wellington
The family butcher business, located in Wellington, Somerset, was opened in 1996 by Tim and his father-in-law. From operating with just one member of staff in those early days, the business has evolved into an award-winning enterprise and is now one of the best-known butcher's in the Southwest of England.
When it comes to winning awards, the shop is no stranger to success. The company has amounted a variety of awards over the years. In 2020, Tim’s daughter Katie was awarded the prestigious Women in Meat ‘Rising Star’ Award and is rightly very proud of this achievement.
Katie said that she couldn't thank her family and customers enough for taking the time to vote for her, and that it "meant the world" to her that their support enabled her to win the award on the night.
Dales Traditional Butchers, Kirby Londale
Situated in the busy market town of Kirby Lonsdale, Dales Traditional Butchers does ‘exactly what it says on the tin’ - and stays firm to traditional values of quality and value. For well over 100 years, the shop has supplied the finest quality, locally farmed meats to residents of the town, the surrounding areas of Cumbria, and the Yorkshire Dales.
Proprietor Mark Duckworth has owned the business for 22 years and his success – reflected in the trophies on display within the shop - is the result of his many years’ experience working in the meat industry.
Mark told Meat Management that the team were “absolutely overwhelmed and in shock” at their nomination this year. He added: “If we were to win it would be a massive boost for our business, especially for all our staff that have worked really hard to provide the products and customer service that we do.”
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This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
