An outstanding success was the universal opinion of judges at this year’s UK Sausage Week competition judging, which took place at The Regional Food Academy based within the Harper Adams University campus.
Participants who entered products will now have to wait until the celebration lunch and awards ceremony on 26th October at Butchers’ Hall in London to find out who will be taking the top spots across 11 categories, including who will be crowned UK Supreme Sausage Champion.
A shortlist of finalists will be published online in early September in the run up to UK Sausage Week once the judging results have been evaluated and ranked in order. The UK Supreme Sausage Champion will be chosen from one of ten category winners.
Sharon Yandell of Meat Management magazine, which organises and supports UK Sausage Week, commented: “Results will be collated soon and there is no doubt that we shall have some worthy winners to announce at the Awards lunch at Butchers’ Hall, London on 26th October.”
Judges representing the Institute of Meat this year were Dave Smith, CEO of the Institute of Meat (IoM) and Bill Jermey, IoM chair. Industry consultant John Howard was also one of the five judges on the team.
Judges’ comments:
“I really enjoyed the sausage judging – bangers and mash are one of my go-to meals! It was good to taste some really great traditional sausages as well as some interesting variations to tempt more modern tastes – some worked for me and others didn’t, but that is to be expected. Overall the quality was excellent.”
“It was so pleasing to see such widespread evidence that the best traditions of our sausage industry are very much alive and well, alongside some great new recipes arriving in the market to meet the wider needs of our consumers today.”
“I was delighted to witness such a varied range of recipes and flavours that clearly demonstrate that the sausage industry has innovation very high on its priority list. The products were a combination of traditional and current, with producers researching global flavour trends to develop a USP.”
Publisher of Meat Management magazine Graham Yandell MBE summed up: “We have tasted and evaluated a wide range of products and our team was particularly impressed by the care and attention that manufacturers and retailers, including many butchers, have shown through the creation, packaging and branding of some extremely tasty sausages.
“It is reassuring to see such a wide range of entries and the continued innovation ahead of this year’s UK Sausage Week, which all of us at Meat Management are looking forward to.”
UK Sausage Week takes place between Monday 26th October and Sunday 1st November. More information is available at the website: www.uksausageweek.com.
Limited availability remains to book a table or tickets to attend the UK Sausage Week luncheon on 26th October. For details click here.
Thank you to the UK Sausage Week 2026 partners:
