A BUTCHER used a wartime recipe to blow away competition from across the UK with his “fruity” black pudding.
Steven Bennett, who owns the D H Robertson family business in Arbroath, Angus, has been crowned the country’s first ever Black Pudding UK Champion of Champions.
And he put his empathic victory down to “dusting off” a special World War Two recipe.
Steven, 53, said: “It’s a recipe we inherited from Doug Robertson, a former owner of the business – so the recipe book came with the shop.
“We reckon it dates back to before the Second World War and although our customers have been enjoying it for generations, I decided to dust it down and give it a wee tweak or two for today’s palette.”
The wartime special, along with Steven’s tweaks, proved a masterstroke with his hand-mixed, small batch, black pudding set to become as famous as Arbroath’s famous smokies.
Meat industry expert Keith Fisher, who headed a panel of judges, rated a dozen black puddings from across the UK in both their cooked and uncooked form.
He stated: “The winner had an excellent uncooked appearance, with complex flavour notes providing different taste experience throughout.
“Fruity notes, with lovely pepper aftertaste.”
Steven runs the butchers with a team of 12 staff, including his wife Pam and daughter Ariane.
And he insists he was left “bursting with pride” after winning the inaugural event.
He beamed: “It’s tremendous that a wee family business in a small coastal town in Scotland can triumph over the Goliaths of the industry.
“I’m so proud of my whole team for this amazing achievement. I never expected it in my wildest dreams.
“To be judged as making the best black pudding in the whole of the UK is such an honour.
“We faced some amazing talent from the rest of the country and came out tops – that’s just fantastic.”
