![\"Bodnant](\"http:\/\/ceidiog.com\/pr\/files\/2015\/05\/1704-gold-and-silver-medals-at-this-weeks-Welsh-Excellence-in-Meat-Awards08.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt was one of eight major awards at the event for the centre – with Bodnant\u2019s 18-year-old butchery apprentice Sam Birchall picking up silver in Young Sausage Maker of the Year for his Pork, Apricot and Aberwen Cheese Sausage.<\/p>\n
Bodnant managing director Chris Morton, who revealed that he eats one of the newly honoured pork pies for his lunch every day, hailed the haul of accolades as well deserved recognition for his \u201cbrilliant\u201d team of staff.<\/p>\n The Welsh Awards were handed out during a glittering presentation ceremony at the Kinmel Manor Hotel at which 28 of the top retail butchers who entered from right across Wales were represented.<\/p>\n The honours to Bodnant\u00a0 included five gold awards, for Rack of Welsh Lamb stuffed with rosemary and bara brith, Pork Pie, Huntsman\u2019s Pie and Meat and Potato Pie plus a Welsh Black Beef Burger.<\/p>\n Completely new to the foodie world, the pioneering burger is a mouth-watering combination of the locally reared prime Welsh Black Beef sold at Bodnant and the Welsh Black Beer brewed just further along the Conwy Valley in Llandudno by Great Orme Brewery.<\/p>\n Bodnant\u2019s silver awards tally of three included Traditional Pork Sausage, plus Pork and Leek Sausage as well as\u00a0Sam\u2019s Young Sausage Maker of the Year Birchall award.<\/p>\n Chris said: \u201cThe champagne corks are popping again at the centre to celebrate this latest round of awards, which are a sure sign of our continuing excellence and an independent vote of confidence in the traditional skills of our butchers and bakers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s brilliant when we win honours such as this, which recognise all the dedication and hard work of our team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have an awful lot of highly skilled people at Bodnant and these awards, which are amongst the most respected in the industry, give them the chance to really showcase their talents to a wider audience.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very lucky to have these people working for us.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cOur ability to keep on winning awards such as this also has a lot to do with the very close partnership we enjoy with local suppliers and the extremely high quality of\u00a0 meat and other produce which is available to us here in the Conwy Valley.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a growing number of people using Bodnant who now regard us as very much their local shop, which I am delighted about.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve sampled all the award-winning pies and sausages in the competition and all I can say is that every day for my lunch I eat one of the pork pies lovingly produced for us by our head pieman, Peter Jones.\u201d<\/p>\n Bodnant\u2019s butchery department manager Jason Fraser said: \u201cThis is the seal of approval from the whole industry.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were something like 250 separate items up for judging and some very tough competition, so I\u2019m over the moon that once again we\u2019ve taken on the very best in Wales and beaten them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m even more delighted that all this success has come in what were the first major awards we\u2019ve entered since I took on the job at Bodnant quite recently.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m especially pleased to see our new Welsh Black Beef Burger take gold\u201d<\/p>\n Bodnant Welsh Food is located in a building dating from the 18th<\/sup> century which has been lovingly restored and includes a farm shop<\/a>, tea room<\/a>, restaurant<\/a>, wine cellar, cookery school<\/a> and farmhouse accommodation<\/a>.<\/p>\n The centre had its fanfare opening by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2012.<\/p>\n Bodnant Welsh Food Centre has its own dairy making cheese and ice cream, plus an on-site bakery and butchery, with award-winning pies. There\u2019s also a wine store and tea rooms plus the Hayloft restaurant and farmhouse accommodation.<\/p>\n More details at bodnant-welshfood.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n