Celebrating Our Champion of Champions Success

Celebrating Our Champion of Champions Success

Dales Butcher's Pork and Caramel Sausage Triumphs!

Great news, meat lovers!

Yesterday, May 22 2023, Mark made the journey to Birmingham for the prestigious Butcher’s Shop of the Year Awards at The Bierkeller. And guess what? He brought home the coveted Champion of Champions title for our lip-smacking Pork and Caramel sausage! Can we get a round of applause?

Butcher's Shop of the Year

Now, the Butcher’s Shop of the Year Awards is an event that pays homage to the very best of our beloved butchery industry. It’s where we gather to celebrate outstanding quality, unwavering commitment, and remarkable achievements. The competition spans six regions across the UK and recognises excellence in innovation, top-notch displays, online retail prowess, and the exceptional skills of our up-and-coming trainee butchers. It’s a true testament to the finest that British butchery has to offer!

The UK's top bangers!

But adding an extra dash of excitement to this year’s event wass the highly esteemed Champion of Champions sausage competition.

Here, the crème de la crème of sausages from all corners of the country go head-to-head in a battle for ultimate supremacy. And by Jove, our Pork and Caramel sausage reigned victorious against a field of exceptional contenders!

An accolade like this means the world to us. It’s a testament to the passion and dedication we pour into perfecting our sausage recipe and sourcing the finest ingredients. Crafted with pride, our Pork and Caramel sausage delivers a mouthwatering taste that’s second to none.

a neatly stacked pile of Dales Butchers award winning pork and caramel sausages

Butcher's Shop of the Year

Now, the Butcher’s Shop of the Year Awards is an event that pays homage to the very best of our beloved butchery industry. It’s where we gather to celebrate outstanding quality, unwavering commitment, and remarkable achievements. The competition spans six regions across the UK and recognises excellence in innovation, top-notch displays, online retail prowess, and the exceptional skills of our up-and-coming trainee butchers. It’s a true testament to the finest that British butchery has to offer!

a neatly stacked pile of Dales Butchers award winning pork and caramel sausages

The UK's top bangers!

But adding an extra dash of excitement to this year’s event wass the highly esteemed Champion of Champions sausage competition.

Here, the crème de la crème of sausages from all corners of the country go head-to-head in a battle for ultimate supremacy. And by Jove, our Pork and Caramel sausage reigned victorious against a field of exceptional contenders!

An accolade like this means the world to us. It’s a testament to the passion and dedication we pour into perfecting our sausage recipe and sourcing the finest ingredients. Crafted with pride, our Pork and Caramel sausage delivers a mouthwatering taste that’s second to none.

The Judges Choice

“It’s always a difficult decision every year when we come to do Champion of Champions.”  judge Keith Fisher, CEO of the Institute of Meat said. “You’re starting with a ‘formula one’ grid of sausages. They have all won something – they come here with a pedigree. In fact, one of the easiest ways of judging is to find mistakes within the entries – maybe the length, the width as they stand in the raw state.

When judging in the raw state, we ask ourselves ‘would you buy those sausages?’ before we start cutting them up and looking at texture and filling and firmness and so on. If yes, we proceed to cook. We look at whether there’s air cavities, bones or gristle – with this particular grid of sausages, I wouldn’t expect to find that but occasionally some slip through. Then we look at the final five or six that we’ve highlighted as possible winners. Whereas we normally have about five to go through to the cooking stage, we selected seven today because we were all vying for one or two that we felt were possible winners.”

Commenting on the champion, Fisher said: “It was the firmness of the sausage, the juiciness, the texture of the skin and filling. When it was cooked, that plate disappeared with all the samples on it.”

Overjoyed by his new crown, Mark said: “I feel absolutely overwhelmed. It’s the one thing I’ve always wanted to win. Years of hard work – we got there.”

Needless to say, as we revel in this momentous achievement, we promise to keep delighting your taste buds with even more tantalising creations in the days ahead. So stay tuned, and let the feasting commence! 

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