First finalists revealed in Butcher's Shop challenge

- Published: 03 September, 2010

Judging is now well under way for Butcher's Shop of the Year 2010, and MTJ can now reveal some of the shortlisted finalists.

With some of the first rounds under their belts, judges will now move on to the final categories of Innovation, Halal and Young Butcher of the Year before hitting the road to visit the shortlisted finalists.

Ed Bedington, editor of MTJ which organises the annual competition, said: "We've had some superb entries into this year's competition, and the overall numbers and standard have been really high. For our first-round judges, it has been a tough challenge to pick out our potential winners and there have been some superb businesses competing for the titles.

"To see the high standards of those businesses is really rewarding and just goes to show the strength within our sector, even during difficult business times."

Categories still to be judged and finalists revealed include Young Butcher of the Year, which has seen record levels of entries this year, Innovation of the Year and Halal Butcher's Shop of the Year. Keep a close eye on www.meatinfo.co.uk for latest news on these finalists.

Bedington added: "It's great to see so many entries into our Young Butcher category this year. Clearly, recruiting fresh new talent is something the sector is starting to take very seriously and, if the entries are anything to go by, we're moving in the right direction."

The Butcher's Shop of the Year Awards covers butchers' shops around the country, with the winner in each region going head-to-head to see which one is declared the best butcher's shop in the UK. As well as Young Butcher and the new Halal category, the competition also includes other stand-alone national awards, including Butcher's Plus, Farm Shop and Innovation of the Year.

The competition is judged in two rounds, with an initial paper entry assessed by a panel of expert judges and the shortlisted finalists then visited by our on-the-road judges to decide the overall winners. The Innovation of the Year will also be assessed on paper, and the winner picked during the first round of judging.

This year's awards, which take place on 16 November at The Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, London, are sponsored by Eblex, Bpex, Weddel Swift and Harmony Farm, Lucas Ingredients, Tican Chilled, Bizerba, QMS' Scotch Butcher's Club, the Meat Training Council and Verstegen Spices & Sauces.