Andrew Rook of JC Rooks accepted the independent butcher’s category award last Tuesday (November 1) for the firm's sausage which combined iconic British fry up flavours.
The award was a second win for JC Rooks, after snagging first prize in the 2016 Champions of Champions national sausage contest earlier this year.
The awards ceremony was part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) British Sausage Week which started on October 31.
Won the gold prize
In the multiple retailer group, discount retailer Aldi won the gold prize in the traditional pork sausage category for its Ashfield Farm Butcher’s Select Lincolnshire Pork Sausages. It beat silver prize Booker and bronze prize Ocado.
The gold prize for traditional premium pork sausage was awarded to Marks & Spencer for its Outdoor Bred Olde Farmhouse Sausages, with Silver and Bronze places given to Tesco and Waitrose.
The final prize for multiple retailers was for specialty pork sausage, with the gold snagged by Waitrose for its Heston from Waitrose Spicy Goan Choris Sausages.
Specialty pork sausage
This year’s British Sausage Week ambassador Jonathan Benjamin Gill – former boy band JLS singer and farmer – congratulated all of the winners.
Commenting on the winning sausages, Gill said: “It’s a huge pleasure to be involved in British Sausage Week 2016, celebrating the amazing range of sausages from around the country.
“The quality and taste of this year’s entries has been truly astounding and it’s a huge honour to be able meet some of the butchers and producers behind the country’s best bangers.”
Now in its 19th, British Sausage Week aimed to highlight to consumers the versatility sausages offer and how they can be enjoyed as part of a healthy balanced diet.