Moray butchers in meat industry's 'upper crust'
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TWO Moray butchers earned a big slice of the pie at the recent Scottish Craft Butchers Awards.
W Reid Butchers, of Harbour Street, Hopeman, took home silver for its traditional steak pie, while A J Jamieson, of Duke Street, Fochabers, was awarded silver for its mince round.
The heats were held at Forth Valley College last month. More than 280 pies from butchers' shops around the country were tested for appearance, flavour, filling and appeal.
The panel of judges included experts, food writers and consumers at the event organised by the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders, John Scott Meat Ltd and William Sword Ltd.
Jason Ward, of John Scott Meat, said: "With John Scott Meat being one of the main sponsors of this year’s Steak Pie, Mince Round and Speciality Pie Competition, I was delighted to be invited along to take part in the very challenging job of judging the top pies in Scotland. Who would have thought a lifetime of eating steak pies would have come in so useful?
"We are proud to be involved with this event as it is our priority to meet the demands of the independent butcher and, I must say, I was blown away by the standard of pies. What an exceptional showcase of the quality products available at your local Scottish craft butcher."
David Mooney, direct sales manager of William Sword, said: "These awards are extremely important in the Scottish meat industry calendar, celebrating excellence across the board. To receive an award is a fantastic achievement as these winners represent the upper crust of the Scottish meat industry – tremendous given the high standard of produce across Scotland as a whole."
