Birstall-based butcher lands pork pie prize

PERFECT PIE: Dean Worsnop is pictured with John Gallagher of sponsors McDonnells and CYBC president Konrad Kempka.

A Birstall-based butcher has scooped a top award for his tasty pork pies.

Dean Worsnop, of Haggarts Family Butchers in Low Lane, Birstall, won the New Kid on the Block trophy for the best newcomer to the 2016 Great Yorkshire Pork Pie.

This year’s annual Confederation of Yorkshire Butchers Council (CYBC) competition, staged at the Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford, on Sunday 30 October was open to all UK independent retail butchers, farm shops and bakers who make products on their own premises. It attracted around 250 entries.

A delighted Mr Worsnop said: “I entered the thin pork sausage, thick pork sausage, small and large pork pies, and beef burger classes.

“I got up at 1.15am and worked really hard getting everything just right, but it was definitely worth it, as now I can take home a trophy home to display in the shop window. It’s a brilliant award, and I think it’s the first thing I’ve ever won – apart from a rugby ball in a raffle.”

Bolster Moor Farm Shop in Golcar, Huddersfield, created history when making a clean sweep of the principal honours in the two flagship classes for the first time in the contest’s 28-year history.

The shop clinched both the supreme and reserve supreme pie titles with its first prize-winning large and small pork pies – then repeated the feat in the sausage section with its speciality sausage and thick pork sausage class winners.

Main competition sponsors were Lucas Ingredients, Interbake, The Dalesman Group, William Jones Packaging, Dalziel, AHDB Pork, WR Wright and Sons, and the NFMFT.

Other annual trophy donators included Oris, Ripon Select Foods and Dublin-based McDonnells/Dick Knives.