Golden glow for Hannan Meats in Great Taste
Hannan Meats has continued to set the pace in terms of gold stars in Great Taste Awards, the company announced this week as the details of the 2014 event were revealed by the influential UK Guild of Fine Food.
The company, a speciality butchery business based at Moira in County Down, achieved 35 gold stars, a UK-leading seven three gold stars for products including Himalayan Salt-Aged Beef and Moyallon Dry-Cured Bacon.
The latest awards mean that Hannan Meats, founded in 1989 by Peter Hannan, has won 129 gold stars for its products over the last four years, more than any other individual company in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
In addition, the company was named Supreme Champion in 2012, only the second Northern Ireland food business to gain the most important award in what has become the annual 'Oscars' of the food and drink industry. Hannan Meats was Northern Ireland Regional Golden Fork winner in 2013.
Peter Hannan, managing director of Hannan Meats, commenting on the 2014 awards, said: "Winning so many awards in such a prestigious and influential event, the most important in the UK and Ireland's food calendar, is tremendously exciting. It's a really marvellous endorsement of quality, outstanding taste and innovation that underpins all the meat that we provide to customers throughout the British Isles and increasingly in other parts of Europe.
"This year's awards also show that our decision to invest in a highly innovative Himalayan Salt-Aging Chamber for meat, now the world's biggest, was correct. The chamber is enabling to produce award-winning succulent meat that's unique in our sector. Our commitment to the creation of original taste experiences has been recognised by the UK Guild of Fine Food. We've never entered the same product in each year's awards.
"The recognition that results from winning so many Great Taste Awards has led directly to business from major retailers such as Fortnum and Mason and from the most distinguished and creative chefs including Mark Hix.
"The awards are also a marvellous boost for our farm suppliers who benefit from our success in terms of better prices. We are able to count on quality animals raised by our network of farmers committed to the highest welfare standards and husbandry. Our customers can count on premium and safe products from state-of-the-art processing operations using raw materials from farmers with a rich heritage in rearing the best livestock.
"The awards are also helping to establish Northern Ireland as an European centre of excellence for creative and superb tasting food."
The UK Great Taste Awards won by Hannan Meats in 2014 are:
Three Stars
Himalayan Salt Aged Beef Fillet aged on the bone for 28 days
Himalayan Salt Aged Rib Chop
Himalayan Salt Aged Rib of Beef
Himalayan Salt Aged Rib-eye Steak aged on the bone for 28 days
Himalayan Salt Aged T-Bone Steak aged for a minimum of 28 days
Himalayan Salt Aged Tagliata aged for a minimum of 40 days
Moyallon Three Sweet Bacon Ribs
Two Stars
Belfast Chaps - Pork Jowl Cured
Himalayan Salt Aged Delmonico Steak
Himalayan Salt Aged Porterhouse
Himalayan Salt Aged Sirloin Steak
Moyallon Sweet Cured Bacon Chop
One Star
Moyallon Traditionally Dry Cure Bacon
Moyallon Sweet Cured Ham Hock
Himalayan Salt-Aged Sirloin Dry-Aged on the Bone for 28 days
Himalayan Salt-Aged Chateaubriand