Butchers Dan Turnbull and Alex Daley, from Turnbull’s Northumbrian Food Hall in Alnwick, have been recognised among the upper echelons of UK butchers after facing off against rivals in a national competition.
Part of The Great Yorkshire Show, nine teams took part in the competition, which was hosted by industry supplier Dalziel Ltd. The event saw teams of two prepare as much as they could from a range of fresh meat in just two hours and 45 minutes, before presenting their work to a panel of expert judges.
The teams were given a side of pork, topside of beef, rump of beef, thick Flank of beef, whole lamb and three whole chickens along with a pantry of ingredients. Each team was judged on their theme, butchery skills, innovation, display skills, workmanship, health and hygiene, cleanliness, utilisation of waste and trim, and the amount and quality of products produced.
The Turnbull’s pair came away with four awards – including Best Beef Product (bistro steak & stilton pie), Best Burger (beef, stilton, black pudding & caramelised onion), Best Sausage (honey roasted pork) and Best Pork Product (oriental pork tomahawk).
Dan, a fifth-generation family butcher, and his trusted sidekick Alex chose a theme showcasing the past, present and future of butchery by mixing traditional cuts with modern techniques.
Dan said: “We are so happy to be recognised as some of the best in the UK. It’s a shame we didn’t win overall, but just to be there is a great achievement and I’m proud that we were able to represent more than 140 years of my family’s legacy.
“I’m dead chuffed at how we managed to produce a total of 45 different dishes in just under three hours, that was not an easy task! We asked Chat GPT to suggest a range of products we should produce, based on the meat we had available, and it came back with some really interesting results. One of them – our summer fiesta sausage – is now available in the Food Hall.”
Alex added: “There was some stiff competition, and we were up against some great teams, but I’m buzzing that we’ve been able to bring some awards home.”
Danny Upson, sales and marketing director of the event, said: “I’m so proud of all the butchers that competed at the Battle of the Butchers 2024. They showcased their butchery craftmanship to thousands of people – public, farmers and butchers.”
