Pie-eyed: The best sausages, pork pies and black pudding are crowned at the Great Yorkshire competition

The Great Yorkshire Pork Pie and sausage competition at Cedar Court Hotel, Leeds.. Pork Pie Judge Stuart Blakey pictured at the competition 18th November 2018 ..Picture by Simon Hulme

IT is a celebration of all things butchery, but only the best pies, sausages and black pudding can receive the top honours.

The 30th Great Yorkshire Pork Pie, Sausage and Products Competition attracted 217 entries from Yorkshire and beyond when it was held in Bradford at the weekend.

Founded by the Confederation of Yorkshire Butchers Councils’ (CYBC) during the height of the BSE scandal in 1988 which “devastated” the industry, the annual event honours the best pork pie, sausage, black pudding and beef burgers in the business.

B&M Collins Butchers in Cleckheaton took home the award for supreme pork pie champions, which it last won in 2016, with Geo. Middlemiss & Son in Otley, last year’s champion, taking reserve space.

The Great Yorkshire Pork Pie and sausage competition at Cedar Court Hotel, Leeds.. Pork Pie Judge Neil Curtis pictured at the competition 18th November 2018 ..Picture by Simon Hulme

A ham and marmalade sausage produced by Woods Butchers, from all the way in Knutsford, was crowned supreme sausage champion, with Pontefract’s Farmer Copley’s in reserve.

Hinchliffe’s Farm Shop in Netherton produced the best beef burger which D J Fenton in Doncaster was crowned the ‘New Kid on the Block’ for its Lincolnshire pork sausage.

CYBC secretary and former Keighley butcher, Mike Ward, said: “It’s brilliant for the trade, and the standard has been really up to scratch this year. We’ve had a lot of sausage variant recipes, including things like pork, cranberry and stuffing, and even chilli and Black Sheep Ale.”