Two butchers take top honours in tasting competition
John Hoy, left, of John C Hoy Butchers, Portadown is presented with the award for best traditional beef sausage in the Under 15 employees category of the European Angus Tasting Competition by head judge John Thompson. The Edenderry-based family butchers also won the Supreme Champion Award in this category.
TWO local butchers have raised the steaks in the Northern Ireland beef sector by lifting major honours in a province-wide tasting competition organised by the European Angus Cattle Society.
Edenderry-based John C Hoy took the top honour in the best traditional beef sausage class in the under-15 employees category while Richhill-based Greenmount Farm Shop won best beefburger in the same class.
Both businesses also lifted the Supreme Champion Award in their class.
Meanwhile M & W Farm Meats was third in the gourmet beef sausage class in the under-15 employees category of the event.
The competition, now into its third year, is held at CAFRE Loughry Campus in Cookstown with the aim of finding the best fillet steak, sirloin steak and rib-eye steak in the province along with an overall Supreme Champion steak and best beef sausage, gourmet sausage and best beefburger.
Open to farmers, butchers, retailers and processors there are two categories – those with under 15 employees and those with over 15 employees - and all judging is carried out as ‘blind tastings’.
“This is an excellent result for County Armagh based butchers,” said European Angus Cattle Society Secretary, Harry McGaffin. “The European Angus Tasting Competition has become recognised as a major event in the agri-food calendar and accolades are much sought after.
“Once again the standard was extremely high in all categories of the competition, which says a lot about the quality of the products.”
Once again chef in charge of this year’s tastings was Gary Scott of Salt Restaurant in Portadown.
At the event an auction and raffle was held in aid of the European Angus Cattle Society’s chosen charity, ‘the Make a Wish Foundation’ and a total of £1,462 was raised during the evening.
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Weather for Portadown
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 18 C
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