The Smithfield Awards ceremony and lunch took place at Butchers’ Hall, where the Q Guild celebrated this year’s best-in-class butchery products.
Craft butchers gathered at Butchers’ Hall in London on 22nd April for the Q Guild’s Smithfield Awards 2026.
Prizes were awarded in 11 product categories following a stringent judging process that took place at City of Glasgow College. More than 200 products were entered, with the best receiving Bronze, Silver or Gold status. The top product in each category won the Diamond Award, and these products were put forward for the Smithfield Platinum Award, which is presented to the overall product winner.
Q Guild manager Gordon Wallace said: “The Smithfield Awards are designed to celebrate excellence in UK craft butchery, driving higher standards and inspiring innovation across the industry. As the meat trade’s most rigorous product evaluation, achieving a Gold award is a remarkable achievement and a real testament to the quality of the products crafted by UK butchers.”
In addition to the product awards, there was a prize for the Best Butchers Display as well as the coveted Q Guild Young Butcher of the Year award.
Diamond Award winners
Traditional Pork Sausage: Farmhouse Pork Sausage – John Davidsons, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire
Innovative Sausage: Moroccan Lamb Sausage – Chase Farm, Sutton Coldfield
Ready Meal: Butter Chicken – Aubrey Allen, Leamington Spa
Cold Eating Pie: Pork & Apple Pie – Cranston’s, Penrith
Burger: Signature Steak Burger – Coates, Coxhoe, Durham
Hot Eating Pie: Mince & Onion Pie – The Blagdon Farm Shop, Blagdon, Newcastle upon Tyne
Cooked Meats: Roast 45-Day Aged Beef – Lidgate’s, Holland Park, London
BBQ Product: Chicken Thigh Kebab – Trussell’s, Knebworth, Hertfordshire
Speciality Game Meat Product: Game & Red Wine Pie – Lishman’s of Ilkley, Ilkley, Yorkshire
Best Butchers Steak: Ribeye Steak – Owen Taylor & Sons, Leabrooks, Derbyshire
Home Cured Bacon: Home Cured Bacon – Lishman’s of Ilkley, Ilkley, Yorkshire
Best Butchers Display: Aubrey Allen, Leamington Spa
Platinum Award winner
The Smithfield Platinum Award was judged by Dr Carrie Ruxton (guest speaker), Bill Jermey (chairman of the Institute of Meat), Gwen Mostyn (editor of Meat Management magazine), and John and Helen Buckwell (Q Guild honorary members), who all praised the high quality of all the Diamond Award-winning products. The top honour of the 2026 Platinum Award was presented to Steven Owens of Lidgate’s for its Roast 45-Day Aged Beef.
Owens commented on winning the overall award: “We’re delighted to win both the Diamond and Platinum awards for our 45-day aged roast beef. We hand select all our beef from our farmers and only use regenerative farmed beef and grass fed. We spend a long time ageing it and don’t rush the process. We’ve never won the Platinum award before which means a lot.”
Young Butcher of the Year
In recognition of the importance of the next generation of butchers to the industry, Q Guild presents the Young Butcher of the Year award to a candidate who has shown themselves to have the skills, dedication and potential in the craft. Institute of Meat chair Bill Jermey introduced the finalists and presented the award. This year’s finalists were Kelsey McCann of Lidgate’s, Lewis Irving of Cranstons and Charlie Barlow of Barlows Butchers in Nottingham, with the award going to Charlie Barlow.
On receiving the accolade, Barlow said: “It’s a massive result to win this award. I’ve always wanted to win it, so it means a lot. I think going out to Texas to see all the BBQ scenes for inspiration definitely helped me win and I’m really grateful.”
Wallace commented: “We would like to extend our congratulations to Charlie Barlow recipient of the Q Guild Young Butcher Award – arguably our most significant accolade. This award highlights the skill, passion and fresh thinking of young butchers, reinforcing confidence that the future of our craft is in capable hands.”
Celebration luncheon and ceremony
The awards lunch began with a presentation by nutritionist Carrie Ruxton PhD, who spoke on the topic of health and talked about the opportunities for craft butchers that come from an ever-greater awareness among consumers about the food they eat, including a focus on protein and other nutrients that are abundant in meat.
She concluded with three points:
- Meat is healthy and we can prove it.
- Most people want to eat meat.
- Keep innovating and maximising quality and nutrition benefits.
Following the meal, Ruxton returned to the lectern to announce the award winners.
