Finalists announced for Britain’s Best Butcher’s Shop award

The four finalists for the 2017 Britain’s Best Butcher’s Shop award have been revealed ahead of the illustrious Meat Management Industry Awards 2017 presentation dinner, which will take place on Wednesday 28th June in Birmingham.

The finalists comprise James of Shepperton in Surrey; Grasmere Farm Shop in Market Deeping; Simpsons in Heckington and Patrick Strainge Butchers in Whitney.The judges have commented that the four finalists all presented a good and orderly business proposition. A key feature of this year’s competition was that all shops excluding one were owned and operated by young butchers who had entered the industry as apprentices and taken the decision to move their businesses forward.All entrants are located in small and medium sized market towns and villages with the exception of one, which is located in a satellite town of London.The judges stated that each premises had made significant investments in their business with recent shop and preparation area refits. All offered an extended range of products ranging from traditional meat cuts through to pan ready, added value/benefits and pastry/charcuterie.The judges added that all the businesses attached great importance to the traceability of the stock supplied into their business, and each finalist matured their beef for between 21-42 days before sale.The four butcher’s shops are all members of the Q Guild and avid participants in product awards and competitions. The judges described the entrants’ relatively young age, their commitment and enthusiasm and belief in a positive future as "remarkable".They commented: “All of the businesses had one key concern: attracting new talent into the trade. A challenge for everyone!”Unveiling a winner…The winner of the Britain’s Best Butcher’s Shop award will be revealed at the Meat Management Industry Awards 2017, which will take place on Wednesday 28th June at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.Tickets to this premier social and networking event for the meat industry are available at www.meatmanagement.com/awards-tickets.Booking for tables of ten or individual tickets can be confirmed via the website, or by a booking form ready to download here.

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.