The finalists in the inaugural ‘England’s Best Sirloin Steak’ competition have been unveiled and nine businesses are now in the race for the Overall Winner’s title.
Run by EBLEX, ‘England’s Best Sirloin Steak’ is one of three competitions to make up the newly launched Quality Standard Mark Excellence Awards 2015. Along with ‘England’s Best Innovative Steak’ and ‘England’s Best Steak Pie’, the awards recognise steak products that deliver excellent eating qualities and the highest levels of customer satisfaction both in and out of the home.
Entries were put through their paces, with judges marking against set criteria, including aroma, colour, marbling, flavour and juiciness. In addition, scientific ‘shear force’ testing was used to measure tenderness.
A winner will be announced in each of the three categories for entry and one of the three category winners will be named ‘Overall Winner’, taking home the title of ‘England’s Best Sirloin Steak’. The finalists are:
Independent Butcher
- Owen Taylor & Sons of Alfreton, Derbyshire with ‘Larder Trim Sirloin’
- Barlows of Kirkby in Ashfield, Notts with ‘Sirloin’
- Breeding Vision of Dunstable, Beds with ‘Wagyu X Sirloin’
Multiple Retailer or Manufacturer/Supplier
- Musgrave Retail Partners GB with ‘Budgens “Discover the Taste” Sirloin Steak’
- Buitelaar Production (UK) Ltd with ‘Buitelaar Select Sirloin’
- Linden Foods with ‘Chef’s Larder Premium Extra Mature Sirloin’
Catering Butcher or Foodservice Operator/Supplier
- Mitchells and Butlers with ‘Miller and Carter Sirloin Steak’
- Walter Rose & Son with ‘Sirloin Steak’
- Solent Butchers Limited with ‘Southern Pride Sirloin Steak’
EBLEX foodservice project manager, Hugh Judd, said: “First round judging was incredibly difficult as the quality of entries quickly became evident. Just over half of the sirloin steaks entered achieved Gold Award status and from those, the three top scoring products in each category were selected as finalists.”
The category winners and Overall Winner in all three Quality Standard Mark Excellence Awards competitions will be announced at a prestigious Awards ceremony taking place at the Underglobe in London on 22 April 2015.
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