Two Derbyshire butchers businesses win top national awards for pies

Owen Taylor & Sons of Leabrooks and CN Wright of Codnor were crowned top of their class at the Smithfield Star Awards in London.

Two awards were presented to Owen Taylor & Sons whose Steak & Stilton scooped the Hot Pie category and whose Pastrami won the From The Deli category. Judges described the pastrami entry as ‘superb quality and flavour with beautiful seasoning, great marbling and perfect peppering’.

The Leabrooks butcher also made the final shortlist and received three star status – the highest possible rating – for five additional products: Stuffed Pheasant Breast, Pork Best Sausage, Steak and Ale Pie, Stilton Pork Pie and Sirloin Steak.

CN Wright won the Pork PIe category with its traditional pork pie, described by judges as ‘well baked, with lovely pastry’.

The Ripley butcher also made the final shortlist in the Steak category with its Sirloin Steak which received three stars – the highest possible rating - while their Bacon, Traditional Pork Sausage and Pork & Sage Sausage all achieved two-star status.

Michelin Star chef and restaurateur Angela Hartnett presented both teams with their coveted Diamond awards.

Richard Taylor of Owen Taylor & Sons, said: “These are the very best butchers in the UK so to receive an award amongst such prestigious company is a real honour. We source our meat from local farms, ensuring it is of the highest welfare and that care and attention is carried right through to creating the products and serving them in our shop or delivering them to our customers. I’d like to thank the Owen Taylor & Sons team who are incredibly dedicated to their work and this award really is testament to them.”

Arthur Wright of CN Wright said: “We’re delighted to say it’s the fourth time we’ve won this award! There’s a lot of knowledge and care that goes into the making of our pork pies, we’ve been practising since 1888! I’m a fourth-generation butcher and we’ve truly honed the technique, with everything made in-house, including the hot water pastry, which is made from scratch.”

CN Wright specialise in traditional butchery with a modern flair and have been operating from the same premises for more than 100 years. All their meat is bought from local farmers including AW Morley of Mickleover, John Dale of Denby Village and Peter Fernehough in Derby.

Gordon Wallace, manager of Q Guild Butchers, which organises the awards, said: “The standard of entries this year was higher than ever with a 20% increase in the number of products awarded three stars, so being crowned best in class was no mean feat! We were delighted to present Owen Taylor & Sons and CN Wright with their awards, which is a fantastic endorsement of their products while also helping raise standards across the board and driving product development in the craft butchery industry.”

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