Tuesday 17 May 2011

Croots Farm Shop sausages and pies win Robin Hood’s seal of approval

Sausages and pies from Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire were on target at the 17th Robin Hood Championship – taking three golds and a silver award during the event run by the Nottinghamshire Council of Retail Meat Traders.

The awards are the latest won by the butchery department at the farm shop in Wirksworth Road, Duffield.

Croots’ Tomato and Basil sausages, the shop’s new Derbyshire Sausages – made from mutton, lemon and herbs – and its Huntsman Pie were top class, according to judges while the Traditional Pork Pie came away with a silver award from the event at the Newark and Nottinghamshire County Show.

Shop owner Steve Croot said: “This is fantastic news for our team. It’s great to get confirmation from industry experts that our products are among the best.

“It confirms what our customers already know, that great ingredients and know-how combine to make all these products stand out, and follows the huge success we had earlier this year at a BPEX regional roadshow when Croots scooped a 16-strong haul of awards for our sausages and pies.”

The Nottinghamshire Council of Retail Meat Traders has been holding the Robin Hood Championship for independent butchers since 1985. It now attracts entries from around the country.

Croots Farm Shop has become renowned for its sausages and other meat products.

In 2009 the shop received a one star gold award in the Great Taste Awards run by the Guild of Fine Food for its black pudding sausage. In November last year the shop won a silver award for its breakfast sausage in a competition held to mark British Sausage Week.

In February, Croots picked up 16 awards at a roadshow run by BPEX, a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board which works to promote English pork. Its regional roadshow in February attracted entries from all over the East Midlands.

For more information about Croots visit www.croots.co.uk

Croots Farm Shop & Kitchen is open Sundays from 10am to 4pm (café until 3.45pm), and from Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (café until 4.30pm). It is closed on Mondays.

Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk