Top UK awards for Northern Irish butcher's puddings

O'Doherty's Fine Meats in Northern Ireland took two gold awards for its puddings in one of the UK's biggest competitions for the meat and butchery industry. The company also listed two 'Best in Awards' titles for the puddings.

The family business owned and managed by Pat O'Doherty in Enniskillen took the top awards for both its black and white puddings at the annual National Meat Products Competition held as part of the big Meatup exhibition. The competition is organised by the National Federation of Meat Traders in Britain.

Mr O'Doherty, commenting on the awards, said: "This is a tremendous endorsement of the quality of our puddings from our own industry. It showcases the outstanding flavours and exceptional quality of our black and white puddings, which are very popular with customers at out shop in Enniskillen.

"The awards are also important because they come as we are preparing to hold our fourth all-Ireland Black Pudding in August when we will have puddings from many parts of the world. The festival is now an important feature of tourism in Fermanagh," he added.

O'Doherty's is among the most innovative meat businesses in Northern Ireland and has won international acclaim for its unique dry-cured Fermanagh Black Bacon and Fermanagh Black Corned Beef. The company has also gained a string of awards for its red meat products and pies.

The company's black and white puddings were among entries from most parts of the UK and were judged by an experienced panel of experts during the show in Milton Keynes.

The competition invited butchers, farm shops and food processors to enter products into 22 categories, including: sausages, burgers, bacon, puddings, charcuterie and pastry products. The entries were judged live at the show by a team of 12 judges.

A total of 144 Gold, 70 Silver and 23 Bronze prizes were presented for products in the 22 categories meeting the judges' required standard. The awards were presented by Roger Kelsey, chief executive of The National Federation of Meat Traders (NFMFT).

He was joined by the Federation's president, Jim Sperring. Roger Kelsey said: "We had a fantastic response this year with just under 300 products entered."

The National Federation of Meat & Food Traders is a national organisation, which has given representation and business support to thousands of independent meat & food traders for more than 100 years. It is the only nationally recognised organisation to represent the independent meat trader in England and Wales at European, government and industry level.

We have a high degree of expertise and experience in all matters pertaining to the independent meat and food trade, and occupy many positions in major groups and consultative bodies in government and industry. The Federation is also an active member of the International Butchers Confederation, which through its Brussels office, is at the heart of EU affairs.