Meat the winners: Morgan's take our Butcher of the Year 2018 title

Morgan’s Country Butchers and Smokery, based in Waters Upton, has been awarded the Shropshire Star’s Most Popular County Butcher Award for 2018.

The company is very much a family affair and is run by Darren Morgan and his daughter Lauren, who said how delighted they were to be the victors.

Darren, a fourth generation master butcher at Morgan’s, said: “It gives the whole team a real boost, we’re all extremely passionate about what we do here and to have the recognition for our hard work is wonderful.

“Winning this award gives us a platform to show how much our butchery means to us and I hope it will encourage more people to come and visit us.”

He added: “We have the loveliest and most supportive customers who really got behind us and got fully involved.

"We received votes in the post as well as some customers making extra trips out to get their votes in on time.”

The candidates were whittled down to a final three, with a final ‘mystery shopper’ element being used to decide the ultimate overall winner.

Lauren explained how she couldn’t wait to hear the results from the blindfold taste test, as they were asked to produce a pound of sausages on the spot. The traditional award-winning sausages were a great hit with the judges.

Heritage

Morgan’s was established in 1896, and the owners said they thought it was important to embrace new techniques as well as maintaining traditional values.

The team believes that its history is a big part of what makes the company stand out from the crowd.

Laura said: “I believe it’s our heritage that makes us unique. My dad, Darren, he’s our master butcher. He has skill which makes the company unique.

WHe has the eye to select our stock from auction, the skill to butcher the entire carcass and the passion to sell it to our customers, knowing they have the best piece of meat possible.

“We are absolutely thrilled and honoured to win the award. I was lost for words when we got the call.”

Competition runners-up include Bert Butler Butchers based in Condover, coming in second, closely followed by GN Badley & Sons, Telford, in third place.

Andrew Maxwell, circulation sales manager at the Shropshire Star, said: “The event went down really well, probably because Shropshire and Mid Wales is such a foodie region.

“The companies were judged on many varying elements including friendliness of the staff, the company’s hygiene rating, how closely the products were sourced and, of course, the quality of the overall product.”