Nominations have opened for the Institute of Meat (IoM) and Worshipful Company of Butchers (WCB) Annual Prizegiving Lunch and Awards, which will take place on Thursday 20th February 2020 at the newly refurbished Butchers Hall, London.
[gallery type="slideshow" ids="https://d34wkqkcvmkqx1.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/ymg-library/web/images/2019/10/IoM-Awards.jpg|The 2019 IoM awards.,https://d34wkqkcvmkqx1.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/ymg-library/web/images/2019/10/IoM-audience-shot.jpg|IoM audience.,https://d34wkqkcvmkqx1.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/ymg-library/web/images/2019/10/JWCrans-CMA.jpg|Jack White of Cranswick received his award from HRH The Princess Royal."]
The annual prize-giving has been running for over 25 years and has rewarded the achievement of over one thousand members of the meat industry since its inception. This year the awards were presented by none other than, HRH The Princess Royal, past Master of WCB and Fellow of the Institute of Meat.
As many of the individual awards are given to apprentices the prizegiving is the perfect opportunity for talented apprentices to be recognised for their efforts. Having an apprentice win a category can also generate valuable regional publicity for individual businesses. Professional photography and press releases are available to all winners to support this.
With 12 categories to choose from there’s plenty of opportunity for individuals and companies to win. Individual winners also take home a cheque for £250, a framed certificate and a year’s honorary membership of the Institute of Meat. In addition, the overall winner receives a cheque for £500. The categories next year include: Best Retail Butchery Apprentice, Best Independent Retailer Meat Apprentice, Best Multiple Retailer Butchery Apprentice and Best Meat Processing Apprentice. The final list of categories will be announced in due course.
Commenting on the awards, Keith Fisher (MB.Inst.M), Chief Executive of the IoM and himself a fourth generation Master Butcher, said: "The prize-giving is a firm fixture in the meat and poultry industry calendar, and the positive feedback from the winners is always a delight to hear. We are committed to inspiring young people to join our industry and rewarding excellence where we see it."
This year’s overall winner was Jack White (pictured) of Cranswick Country Foods, who took home the title of Champion Meat Apprentice of the Year, despite having no previous experience in the industry before joining Cranswick. Jack achieved the highest grade possible, Pass with Excellence, in his end-point assessment for the Butcher Standard Apprenticeship.
To nominate an apprentice, or for more information about the prize-giving, contact Sheryl Horne at the Institute of Meat, tel. 01525 371641 or email info@instituteofmeat.org. To find out more about apprenticeships in the meat industry contact FDQ@fdq.org.uk.
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.
