A pig of a task?

AT THE risk of sounding cynical, years of journalistic experience teach you never to look a gift horse - or pig - in the mouth. So when Pub Food's...

AT THE risk of sounding cynical, years of journalistic experience teach you never to look a gift horse - or pig - in the mouth.

So when Pub Food's old chum Richard Fagan, foodservice development manager with the British Pig Executive (BPEX), phoned up to ask if we'd help out with the inaugural BPEX Foodservice Pork Product of The Year competition, my response was guarded.

It would, promised Richard, just involve a little gentle judging at the Meat & Livestock Commission's head office in glamorous Milton Keynes. Nothing too strenuous.

Experience of the Best Pub Sausage competition, awarded by BPEX in association with The Publican last year, led me to suspect there would be a bit more to it.

So it was no real surprise to discover, on arriving at the appointed hour, a grinning Richard working away in full chef's whites, and more than 80 products across six categories to be assessed. Each had to be carefully examined in both raw and cooked form, and marked on a series of criteria ranging from stuffing to shrinkage. While I am no stranger to a bacon butty, stepping up from amateur status to judge is a big ask.

Fortunately, I was teamed up with an expert. The delightfully-named Sally Ham, a stalwart of Ladies in Pigs, joined me at the judging table. LIPs, as the group is known, tour county shows, trade events and similar occasions to promote the virtues of British pork in all its glory.

Sally proved to be highly adept at spotting a hidden bit of gristle or a poorly-stuffed pork roll, and was able to quickly separate the genuinely innovative from the too-clever-for-its-own-good. "It may be organic, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't have some flavour," was one of Sal's comments.

At one point a very impressive-looking roast pork joint emerged from the oven. But it had been so enthusiastically tied and rolled, it would be all-but-impossible to serve in a high-throughput foodservice setting such as a pub carvery. "Imagine trying to explain why grandma had swallowed a bit of string," said Richard.

Nevertheless, we made it through the day, and a few weeks later the suppliers of the top three products in all six categories gathered at the Butcher's Hall in London for presentations and the announcement of the overall Product of the Year.

The award, after much deliberation, went to stuffed pork olive, made by Loxtons, first prize winner in the Best Pork Ready Meal category.

Paul Durbin, managing director of the firm, said: "We're delighted to have won. We work hard on product innovation, and this is a great way to spread the word."

The winners

Category 1, Best Fresh Pork Cut: