The new awards took place in August 2018 at Blenheim Palace with a prestigious panel of judges and food industry experts, including Henrietta Green, John Gower, Prue Leith, Xanthe Clay & many more…

Chris Wildman, owner of Wildman Charcuterie, says: “We were thrilled to win a Gold for our Craven Longhorn Bresaola, especially as it is a completely home produced product. Our Craven Longhorn cattle are born and bred on the Limestone Pastures around Malham in the Yorkshire Dales. So we know the provenance is impeccable and a true farm to fork product.”

The results of this year’s awards at Blenheim Palace proved that British Charcuterie is thriving and more than ever appreciated throughout the country.

“We’re delighted at the quality and number of entries for the first British Charcuterie Awards and astonished by the quantity of British businesses – producers, farmers, butchers & chefs – making great Charcuterie. Roll on 2019!” Henrietta Green & Charlotte Sharpe-Neal co-founders of the British Charcuterie Awards.

Visit www.coolplaces.co.uk and enter to be in with a chance of winning this great prize, a days butchery course for two here on the farm in The Yorkshire Dales, learn knife skills, traditional Pork Butchery, curing and basic charcuterie.  You will also enjoy lunch with us at Town End Farm Shop in Airton near Malham/Skipton.  www.townendfarmshop.co.uk 

The founders of Rough Guides and Cool Camping have joined forces to create a brand new website www.coolplaces.co.uk “Our focus is on the authentic, independent and quirky, with each area explored personally by a local author”

Cool Places celebrates the glorious diversity of Great Britain, promoting the very best places to sleep, eat, drink, see, and shop. We particularly love the independent businesses that make the UK unique, from artisan bakers to farm shops, canoe trips to gastronomic tours, cool cafés to high-end restaurants and the tiniest B&B to the grandest boutique hotel.

From the March issue of Great British Food Magazine a review of British Chorizo, the British pantry staple food.  Here is a fantastic selection to choose from and I just love the way they say they test five of the best then list six!

Paul Hollywood and Chris Wildman BBC Pies N Puds Corned Beef

We made Corned Beef Plate Pie on the show.

Paul Hollywood Chris Wildman BBC Pies N Puds Corned Beef Plate Pie

Welcome to the home of Yorkshire Chorizo – Town End Farm Shop & Tearoom in Airton just 1 mile from our artisan butchery and charcuterie.  Please call in and sample our Chorizo and lots of other local goodies.

 Town End Farm Shop, Airton, Nr Malham, Skipton, BD23 4BE

01729-830902  www.townendfarmshop.co.uk

Chris takes up the story.  “We were delighted when Pipers Crisps first suggested that our Chorizo would make an ideal flavour for them.  Their award-winning crisps are renowned not only for their excellent taste, but also for the provenance of their flavours.  They had been looking for a meat flavour for some time and they decided that our Chorizo would be the perfect taste for their crisps – a distinctive, strong flavour without being too salty,” he adds.

Serves 2

Ingredients:-

• 4 x Fillets of red mullet, scaled and pin boned
• 10 Chunky slices of Yorkshire chorizo sausage
• 2 x Shallots, peeled and sliced
• 2 x Large vine tomatoes, chopped into chunks
• 1 x Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 x cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced finely
• 100ml Virgin olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Handful of fresh basil leaves
• Salt and pepper

1. Cook the chorizo in a frying pan over a medium heat with a little of the oil until it browns and the oil turns a lovely red colour. (this is the fat rendering down from the sausage. The red colour is the paprika from the chorizo)
2. Add the garlic and cook for a further 30 seconds add balsamic vinegar and take from the heat.
3. Toss the tomatoes, shallots, Yorkshire chorizo and garlic and a tablespoon of the red oil / balsamic mixture left in the pan.
4. Put the rest of the virgin oil, basil,salt and pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice into a bowl. Blend with a hand blender until the basil colours the oil.
5. Fry the mullet fillets, skin side down in a non stick pan for 2 mins over a medium heat. Flip over and cook for a further 30 seconds and remove from heat.
6. Drain the fish fillets on kitchen towel and set aside.
7. Place a nice pile of the dressed salad at the top of your plate and place the mullet fillets just below, fanned out. Drizzle some of the basil oil over and dress with a few baby leaves.

Recipe by Rob Green, Green’s of Whitby

Serves 4

8 cherry tomatoes; sprig of rosemary or thyme, chopped finely; freshly ground black pepper and sea salt; 1 tbsp olive oil; 80g Chorizo, cut into 8 thin discs; 8 small scallops, rinsed and dried with kitchen paper; 8 cocktail sticks

Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, season and sprinkle with chopped rosemary or thyme. Dribble with a little olive oil and roast for 45 min. Place chorizo on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 5 min.

Coat scallops with a little oil and season. Preheat a frying pan and cook each scallop for one minute on each side. Thread chorizo scallop and roasted tomato on a cocktail stick and serve with some torn rustic bread.

Yorkshire Post, Joan Ransley is membership secretary and workshop co-ordinator for the Guild of Food Writers.