New name on trophy as Bennetts claim the Butcher’s Pride crown

There is a new name on the Butcher’s Pride award for south Lincolnshire’s tastiest sausage.

Bennetts Butchers of Winsover Road in Spalding scooped the overall prize by just one point on Friday for their tasty pork and stiton sausage.

They had won the specialist sausage category, with Bycrofts of Boston and Trevor Sharpe of Gosberton tying for the Lincolnshire sausage award. The highest overall score from both categories wins the coveted Butcher’s Pride trophy.

It was the first victory for Bennetts since MP John Hayes launched the competition in 2012.

Organised by Boston College on behalf of Mr Hayes, the event took place this year at The Woodlands Hotel on Pinchbeck Road in Spalding and was once again a huge success.

The hotel proved a wonderful venue and chef Jon Martin prepared the sausages for the judges, who ‘blind tested’ in two sittings, firstly with 12 Lincolnshire sausage recipes and then with 16 speciality makes.

They had no idea which butcher’s sausage they were tasting and judged them individually on appearance and smell, texture, taste and seasoning and flavour. Marks were then added up in each category to arrive with the two winners, and the top mark overall was crowned the Butcher’s Pride champ.

The judging panel comprised of: John Hayes MP, Lincolnshire Life editor Caroline Bingham, Boston College head of governors Peter Cropley, Federation of Small Businesses Wash branch leader Keith Gott, Free Press and Spalding Guardian editor Jeremy Ransome and Boston Borough Council portfolio holder for tourism, arts, culture and heritage Coun Claire Rylott.

Competing for the Best Lincolnshire Sausage were Simpsons, Bennetts and Adams of Spalding, Ashtons and Bycrofts of Boston, Hargraves of Pinchbeck, Shearers of Holbeach, Trevor Sharpe of Gosberton and Grasmere of Market Deeping.

Trevor Sharpe and Bycrofts were well ahead of the opposition, with Grasmere and dams highly commended for their efforts.

And whereas the ingredients, if not the tastes, were similar for the Lincolnshire Sausage contest, the speciality competition gave butchers the chance to experiment.

There was pork and apple, black pepper, sage and red onion, minted lamb, stilton and leake, cumberland, tangy sweet chilli, caramelised red onion and chorizo all vying for the judges’ attention, plus special varieties such as low fat and gluten-free.

But it was Bennetts’ pork and stilton that wowed the panel, just seeing off George Adams’ ginger, chilli and lime sausage (a winner in 2016), which along with Shearers’ gluten-free effort was highly commended.

Results:

Lincolnshire Sausage – 1= Trevor Sharpe of Gosberton and Bycrofts of Boston; 3- Grasmere of Market Deeping; 4- Adams traditional; 5- Adams 1910 recipe.

Specialist Sausage – 1- Bennetts’ pork and stilton; 2- Adams’ ginger, chilli and lime; 3- Shearers’ gluten-free; 4- Adams’ sage and red onion; 5- Grasmere Farms’ pork and chorizo.

Butcher’s Pride Overall Winner- Bennetts’ pork and stilton.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2017: Lincolnshire Sausage: George Adams of Spalding; Speciality Sausage: Trevor Sharpe of Gosberton; Butcher’s Pride Award: George Adams of Spalding.

2016: Lincolnshire Sausage: George Adams of Spalding; Speciality Sausage: George Adams of Spalding; Butcher’s Pride Award: George Adams of Spalding.

2015: Lincolnshire Sausage: Bycroft’s of Boston; Speciality Sausage: Trevor Sharpe of Gosberton; Butcher’s Pride Award: Bycroft’s of Boston.

2014: Lincolnshire Sausage: George Adams of Spalding; Speciality Sausage: Trevor Sharpe of Gosberton; Butcher’s Pride Award: George Adams of Spalding.

2013: Lincolnshire Sausage: Trevor Sharpe of Gosberton; Speciality Sausage: George Adams of Spalding; Butcher’s Pride Award: Trevor Sharpe of Gosberton.

2012: Butcher’s Pride Award: George Adams of Spalding.