Key role in steak challenge for Northern Irish butcher

Northern Ireland's award winning butcher, George McCartney, is the chief judge in the forthcoming World Steak Challenge. He will also be a keynote speaker on the challenge at this month's big Foodex show at the NEC in Birmingham. Based in Moira, county Down, George McCartney has been involved in the butchery business for 50 years, and is the fifth generation in the family business, now including a successful deli and caf? which has been owned and managed by the McCartneys for more than 140 years. He entered his first competition in 1980, organised by the Instituteof Meat, which he won. Since then the company has found winning competitions to be a great means of publicity for the business. The firm's butchery/deli are now 6,000sq ft and employ 32 people with five members of the McCartney family involved. The butchery successes include: • 2012: Best White Pudding in Ireland and the Grand Prix d'Honneur for Pork Sausages in the 39th European Championship in France. • 2011: 1st Prize for Best Sirloin Steak at the European Angus Cattle Society Annual Steak Competition. • 2011: Supreme Champion at the Great Taste Awards with Handmade Corned Beef. • 2011: Northern Ireland - Neighbourhood Retailer Butcher's Shop of The Year. The firm also won this award, judged by mystery shoppers, in 2006 and 2007. It only entered the competition on those three occasions. • Three times overall winner of Meat Trades Journal's Champion of Champions Sausage Competition • Winner of the Northern Ireland section in Meat Trades Journal's Top Shop in 1997, 1998 and 1999, as well as Overall Winner in the UK in 1999. • 1988: Winner of the Epicurean World Masters Chef's Society • International Prix d'Excellence (Sausage Competition), awarded at the Hotel Marriott in London. Foodex in Birmingham from 18-20 April is the UK's premier trade event for the food and drink processing, packaging, ingredients and logistics industries. It's a one-stop shop for manufacturing professionals across the full industry spectrum. The show will shine a light on top trends across the food manufacturing sectors: from improving traceability and consumer trust, transforming productivity and highlighting the latest new ingredients and super foods to make an impression on the industry.