“It’s the taste of my childhood,” said fifth generation butcher Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers, winner of the supreme award for the best food product in the UK and Ireland, at last night’s Guild of Fine Food awards in London.
Whelan’s winning product, beef dripping made in Clonmel from suet from his grass-fed Irish Angus and Hereford beef, rose to the top from 10,000 entries in the annual awards, and Whelan says he created it with “more than a little guidance” from his mother.
The supreme champion was described by a member of the judging panel as “a pure distillation of bovine goodness”, and has been included in the top 50 products in the competition both this year and last year.
“Bringing beef dripping back into the market wouldn’t have been straightforward 20 or even 15 years ago,” Pat Whelan said. “Over the last few years, with the diet police’s crosshairs firmly on refined sugar and carbohydrates instead of saturated fat, our customers are educated and appreciate this classic flavour enhancer.”
The beef dripping, made from the suet rendered down and clarified into a pure fat, “evoked a great deal of nostalgia among the judges, who enjoyed its meaty flavour and the balance of sweet and savouriness”. It is on sale at James Whelan Butchers shop in Clonmel, and in Avoca Food Markets in Monkstown, Avoca and Rathcoole (3.99).
It can be used to give roast potatoes a distinctive flavour and crunch, makes very good fish and chips, and according to its maker, “can be spread on to good bread, like lardo”.
Baronscourt Estate’s Wild Sika Venison French Rack, produced in Co Tyrone, won best product from Northern Ireland and was served as the main course at last night’s award winners’ gala banquet in Kensington.
Just 130 food products from 10,000 entries from Ireland and the UK were deemed to be worthy of three-stars, the highest accolade in the judging process for these awards and eight of them came from the Republic, with a further three from Northern Ireland.
The judging process, which involved more than 450 food critics, chefs, food writers and Women’s Institute members, further reduced the field to a Top 50 in advance of last night’s announcement, and there were four products from the Republic still in contention: James Whelan Butchers’ Beef Dripping; Smoked Irish Organic Salmon, and Smoked Irish Organic Salmon cured with Irish Atlantic Sea Salt, both from Quinlan’s Kerry Fish, and Cuinneog Irish Farmhouse Country Butter, made in Co Mayo.
Kerry Fish’s smoked salmon was singled out for its “notes of the smokehouse and seaweed on the nose”, and the judging panel said: “The close grains, succulent melting texture and fresh taste of this salmon were deemed exemplary for a farmed fish”.
Cuinneog butter, made with pasteurised cream and salt, was deemed to be “gorgeous, subtle and enticing”, and earned praise for its complexity, and “hint of cream cheese tang”.
For stockists and further information on the winning products, see jameswhelanbutchers.com, kerryfish.com and cuinneog.com
