The British Charcuterie Awards launched for 2018.

The awards will take place within The British Charcuterie Tent and judged on the first day of BBC Countryfile Live 2018, Thursday August 2nd in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire.

The Awards offer producers of British Charcuterie their chance to compete in the first independent national awards devoted exclusively to British-produced cured meats, poultry and game.

Open to all British Charcuterie makers – from farmers to producers, processors, butchers and chefs – the nine classes plus two Champion of Champions classes (see below) will be judged by Charcuterie experts, butchers, chefs, food writers and broadcasters.

The British Charcuterie Tent is a brand new and exciting feature of BBC Countryfile Live 2018 that runs from Thursday 2nd – Sunday 5th August and last year attracted 120,000 visitors.

Throughout the four days the must-visit Tent will focus on British Charcuterie and its makers and will feature charcuterie and charcuterie-related products, an information area and a bar with refreshments.

Within The British Charcuterie Tent and throughout the four days, there will be about 20 exhibitors selling charcuterie and charcuterie related products such as boards for presenting charcuterie, curing kits, charcuterie & butchery classes and pickles to go with charcuterie.

There will be an refreshment area/bar where the public can buy and enjoy charcuterie tasting boards with an accompanying drink. On day two – the judging area will be transformed into an information area which will host a small stage for charcuterie-based talks and demonstrations and relevant book signings.

The British Charcuterie Awards see www.britishcharcuterie.live offer producers of fine British charcuterie their chance to compete in the first ever national awards devoted exclusively to British-produced cured meats.

Open to all British Charcuterie makers – from farmers to producers, processors, butchers and chefs – the nine classes will be judged by experts, chefs, writers and food personalities.

Already confirmed Head Judge John Gower of Quiet Waters Farm and Charcuterie Masters USA, Prue Leith, master butcher David Lidgate, butcher, charcutier and chef Stéphane Reynaud, charcuterie teachers Rich Summers and Chris Moorby, chef/owners Angela Hartnett, Adam Handling and James Lowe, food writers Felicity Cloake and Xanthe Clay - with many more to come.

For the judging, the tables will be laid out with the entrants and cordoned off with the public able to watch the process. The winners of the nine classes plus a Champion of Champion Producer and a Champion of Champion Product will be announced during the first day of the show.

The Classes

Class 1 Cured, Air-Dried & Ready-to-Eat Whole Muscle Products – based on the whole muscle these are cured and air-dried products that may or may not be cold-smoked. This class includes traditional product such as Prosciutto-style hams, Lomo, cold-smoked duck breasts or Coppa etc.

Class 2 Cured & Cooked Whole Muscle Products – based on the whole muscle these need cooking – roasted, boiled, baked or hot-smoked – before eating. This class includes cooked hams, salt beef etc.

Class 3 Cured, fermented & Air Dried Ready-to-Eat Sausage Products - these are traditional Salami and other ground meat products that may or may not be cold-smoked.

Class 4 Cured & Cooked Ready-to-Eat Sausage Products - these need cooking – typically poached or hot-smoked– before eating. This class includes Bologna, Mortadella, Luncheon Meats and hot-smoked Kielbasa etc.

Class 5 Soft & Spreadable Products – these are made from cured and/or preserved meats. This class includes Pates, Parfaits, Potted Meats and Rillettes as well as products such as ’Nduja, Lard, Sobresada etc.

Class 6 Cured Bacon – these may be green, cold- or hot-smoked but will need cooking before eating. This class includes streaky, shoulder or back bacon as well as rashers from other meats, poultry and game such as beef, duck etc.

Class 7 British Regional Products – this class includes any traditional British regional recipes such as Hogs Pudding, Black Pudding, White Pudding, Haslett, Faggots, Bath Chaps, Lincolnshire Chine etc.

Class 8 “House Made” Products – this class includes any cured products made in a restaurant, hotel or pub kitchen by the kitchen staff for serving within their own restaurants and bars

Class 9 Native & Heritage Products - supported by Rare Breed Survival Trust & Slow Food in the UK. Meat used in this class must be traceable and from registered stock pedigree parents. All entries will be authenticated by RSBT. This class is open to all products included in classes 1-8 of The British Charcuterie Awards

Chosen from Classes 1-9 entrants

Class 10 The Champion of Champions Product – all products achieving Gold (scoring 80+ points out of a possible 100) will automatically be put forward for The Champion of Champions Product

Class 11 The Champion of Champions Producer – chosen from classes 1 to 9 entrants, the Champion of Champions Producer will be awarded to the producer who performs best consistently over a number of classes - no less than 3 products - spread over a minimum of 3 classes

• - - BRITISH CHARCUTERIE LIVE WEBSITE

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