The results of the Love Your Local Sausage competition are in! Following several weeks of sausage sampling and voting by customers at London Farmers’ Markets and the expert opinions of our tasting panel, who savoured the five shortlisted bangers last month, the Cumberland sausage from Rockwell End Pigs’ emerged victorious, closely followed by Downland Pigs’ Breakfast Marmalade sausage.
The competition was organised by the Jellied Eel Magazine with London Farmers Markets (LFM) to promote some of the wonderful local produce on offer at farmers’ markets in the capital and to help build stronger links between customers and producers [2].
Cheryl Cohen, Director at LFM, said, ‘The competition helped to highlight some of the fantastic quality products our traders sell and the hard time pig farmers are having. We wanted to show that it really is worth paying a little extra for the high welfare of animals and high quality meat content in your sausage.’
Hundreds of Londoners voted on over 21 farmers’ market sausages with the top five going to an expert panel. Judges included food critic Charles Campion, St John’s Fergus Henderson, butcher and blogger Charlotte Harbottle and Manson chef Alan Stewart.
Charles Campion said; “What a great competition, everyone likes a good sausage and the short-listed bangers were all delicious”
The competition also highlighted the importance of using the whole of the animal. Ben Reynolds, the Jellied Eel magazine, explains: “We were keen to focus on sausages as a brilliant example of the diversity of great produce available local to London. The sausage is also a great way of making sure that the less well loved cuts of meat don’t go to waste and that farmers make money from all the carcass. We hope this competition has meant more people have gone out to farmers markets and tried some new sausages”
Matt Emmett, on hearing their Cumberland had won best local London sausage, said, “Delighted to win, especially with such strong competition, as this will support my fledgling business. Thank you to all who voted”
Matt will be presented with his award at Marylebone Farmers’ Market by the Deputy Mayor of Westminster on Sunday 29th April.