IT was the year when Slumdog Millionaire picked up eight Oscars, Northampton’s Matt Smith was named as the new Doctor Who and Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America.
Yet 2009 was also the year that the then Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards were established – a competition set up to celebrate all that is great about local produce and drink, recognise excellence within the county’s dining venues and reward those who work so hard within the culinary sector.
So on the eve of the launch of its tenth year, what impact has the competition had on those businesses which have taken some of the prestigious titles and why, a decade on, has its black and white logo become a badge of honour for the county’s culinary sector?
Who better to ask than Emma Price, Co-Director and fourth generation of family butchers Sauls of Spratton, whose Potted Beef took one of just four titles in that first year of the competition, that of Best Local Product.
The presentation itself was made on the first day of the weekend-long Holdenby Food Show and as Emma recalls, although it was a pretty low key affair by the Awards’ current standards, the impact of that victory on their stand at the event was just as important. “My Dad, Chris, and I received our trophy from Sophie Grigson which was, of course, an absolute thrill, but what we hadn’t appreciated was the effect that that success would immediately have on sales,” said Emma.
“We’d taken what we thought would be more than enough potted beef to last the two days of the show but we’d sold out by the end of the first day and had to make three times as much overnight to meet the expected demand of the Sunday.
“The potted beef had always been one of our best sellers yet sales increased considerably for quite some time to come thanks to the publicity we received.”
Three years later, Sauls enjoyed their next moment in the spotlight when Chris was invited to attend the Diamond Jubilee picnic at Burghley House to present a Diamond Pork Pie, runner-up in the same Awards category, to Her Majesty The Queen.
“Dad explained to Her Majesty that it was a gift on behalf of the people of Northamptonshire and actually he’s never got over having been given such a privileged task,” explained Emma.
“To this day it remains one of the highlights of his professional life and each time he sees the photo of that auspicious moment, which hangs proudly in the shop, he still wells up with pride.”
More successes have followed, with the business taking finalist status in various categories in recent years but, as Emma is keen to add, the competitive element is only one reason why the Awards are so important.
“Ten years ago there was nothing happening to support the food and drink sector here in the county,” she said. “Each business was simply working as hard as it could, quite independently of anyone else, to try to make a living.
“Yet these Awards, alongside the work of the Made In Northamptonshire networking group, have created a real camaraderie among producers and given so many new businesses the courage to start out, something which I just don’t think we would have witnessed without that support.”
Sauls, which has been selling top-quality meat from its traditional ironstone shop in Spratton for almost 100 years, has seen growth year on year over the last decade and only last year took on further staff as it opened its second outlet at Smiths Farm Shop at Chapel Brampton.
While a great deal of hard work, dedication and business acumen have undoubtedly been key to its longevity, Emma believes the Awards have played their part in its more recent success.
“It’s perhaps not surprising that, of all the competitions we’ve won – whether national butchers’ awards or being named barbecue champions – that first Northamptonshire Food and Drink Award is the one that make us most proud as it’s the stamp of approval we’d hope for from our loyal customers.”
For more details on this award-winning butcher visit www.saulsofspratton.co.uk or call 01604 847214.