Judging for this year’s UK Sausage Week competition is underway at test kitchens located in Milton Keynes College, with organisers reporting an impressive number of product entries and a great range of sausage products to evaluate.
UK Sausage Week is the leading nationwide initiative celebrating one of the public’s favourite meal-time staples and will run throughout the last week of October (28th October - 3rd November).
From Cumberlands to chipolatas, a range of sausages have passed through the doors of Milton Keynes College in preparation for this week’s product evaluations.
Judges will assess the sausages in both their raw state and cooked state, with professional home economists preparing and cooking them by following the instructions provided by entrants. Sausages in nine categories will be meticulously judged on appearance, texture, taste, smell, juiciness, as well as whether they undergo any splitting or excessive shrinkage in the cooking process.
The 2024 categories are:
- Best Pork Sausage
- Best Beef Sausage
- Best Lincolnshire Sausage
- Best Cumberland Sausage
- Best Chipolata Sausage
- Best Gluten Free / Free From Sausage
- Best Chicken Sausage
- Best Speciality Sausage
- UK Sausage Week - Supreme UK Champion
Hundreds of products across all eight sausage categories will be judged, and from the winners of these categories one sausage will be handed the title of Supreme UK Champion.
Winners of the annual competition will be announced at the start of UK Sausage Week, during an awards luncheon held at Butchers’ Hall in London on the 28th October attended by the Master of the Worshipful Company of Butchers.
Graham Yandell MBE, publisher of Meat Management magazine, who organise UK Sausage Week, said: “It is a great honour and great fun to be able to bring back UK Sausage Week after the gap created by the Covid pandemic. The level of enthusiasm shown by entrants has been fantastic, with many hundreds of products ready to be judged by the team.
“The support for this initiative has exceeded all expectations, and we are so excited to celebrate the British banger with retailers, supermarkets, manufacturers, foodservice and independent suppliers alike. The week will officially kick off with the much anticipated awards luncheon at Butchers’ Hall, so be sure to book your tickets for the event.”
Tickets to the 2024 UK Sausage Week awards luncheon can be purchased here.
For more information about the initiative, including downloadable poster and logos, click here.
Thank you to the 2024 UK Sausage Week partners:
