West Lothian butcher's link sausage crowned best in south-east Scotland
A West Lothian butchers reckon a pork sausage breakfast is the perfect start to a day.
And Hugh Black & Son's link sausage proved the perfect start to the judges' day at the recent Scottish Pork Sausage Championship 2025 – awarding it the best in Southeast Scotland.
Cameron Black was at the Scottish Craft Butchers' competition in Perth to lift the Southeast Scotland Championship and he said the whole team was 'over the moon'.
Now one of the country's largest independent butchers, with 13 shops throughout the central belt of Scotland, Hugh Black & Sons remains a family run affair.
Cameron, grandson of the original founder, said it was especially pleasing to get rewarded for what the family believe is a really good product.
'Our craft around 500 kilos of pork links at our Bathgate factory every week for distribution to our 13 shops,' he said. 'It's one of our biggest sellers and a product we're really proud of.'
True to Cameron's granddad's original recipe, the award-winning sausage is now flying off the shelves with production going into overdrive to meet demand.
'Word has got out and they're selling like hotcakes,' said Cameron.
'You'll not hear us complaining though. It's great to be back among the champions and we'll be back to retain our title next time and really push for the Scottish Championship.'
Hugh Black & Sons have butcher shops in Armadale, Bathgate, Linlithgow and Whitburn.
Gordon King, executive manager with Scottish Craft Butchers, praised Cameron and the whole team for their regional win, pointing out the high standard of competition they faced.
'The Scottish Pork Sausage Championship is one of the most coveted and fiercely contested competitions in the business,' he said, 'and to lift a regional title is a real achievement and recognition of an outstanding product.
'The standard of entry this year was extremely high which reflects well on our local independent craft butchers who supply this household staple food as one of their key products on a daily basis.'
Judith Johnston, senior account manager with championships sponsors Lucas Ingredients, praised the extremely high standard of competition and the regional champion.
He said: 'Lucas Ingredients is extremely proud to be associated with the Scottish Pork Sausage Championship and would like to congratulate everyone at Hugh Black & Sons on securing the Southeast Champion title in such a prestigious event.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
What was in Rachel Reeves' Spending Review for business?
Of course a week is a long time in politics, as the commentators like to say, never mind a few turbulent months for the Government, so it was perhaps unsurprising that there was a lot of focus on what Ms Reeves had to say. As can often be the case, it can be difficult to discern what is new or recycled when a Chancellor makes statements of this kind, but there was certainly enough to chew over as far as the Scottish business community was concerned. And plenty to get annoyed about too, judging by some of the reaction. Scottish Chambers of Commerce was quite upbeat in its assessment of Ms Reeves' plans. Chief executive Liz Cameron said the Spending Review has 'given business a clear indication that the Government is serious about growth' and welcomed the commitment to Acorn, a carbon capture and storage in Aberdeenshire that many believe will be key to Scotland's transition to a low-carbon energy system. Read more: Ms Cameron said: 'With £86 billion for science and technology earmarked, the Chancellor has rightly placed productivity, innovation and investment at the heart of the Government's growth plans. 'What we need now is for this positive momentum to continue by removing cost burdens on business to help unlock more private investment into the economy and to restore job creation.' Ms Cameron added: 'The Government's backing for the Acorn Project is a significant endorsement which will help to make the north east a world leader in the low-carbon industry. 'This major carbon capture and storage facility puts us on an ecologically more sustainable trajectory and will bolster the region's economy by creating up to 15,000 jobs in construction and attracting billions in private investment. 'Whilst this intervention is undoubtedly welcome, we urge both the UK and Scottish Governments to work in collaboration to realise Acorn's potential in full.' Scottish Chambers also gave the thumbs up to increases in the defence budget, and the reversal of last autumn's decision to cut funding from the Edinburgh University supercomputer project. Ms Cameron noted that the £750 million pledged will 'support the high-quality research coming from Scotland's world-leading research facilities and accelerate the commercialisation of our AI capabilities'. She said: 'Focusing on high growth sectors like IT, biotechnology and life sciences shows that the government has the right priorities.' But while she said the measures announced in the spending review 'have the potential to set the UK economy on the pathway to growth… the Treasury needs more room to manoeuvre'. Ms Cameron noted: 'We echo calls from the International Monetary Fund and leading economists calling for a review of the Government's fiscal rules to allow more flexibility to invest in long-term assets such as transport, infrastructure, connectivity and logistics.' Read more: Although Scottish Chambers found lots in the Spending Review to be encouraged about, the verdict from the Scottish Hospitality Group was scathing, with director Stephen Montgomery declaring that it does 'absolutely nothing' to support the sector. He said: 'Today we heard all about the spending plans, however nothing about helping those who will pay for it through taxes. 'On a day where we know that unemployment has risen, employers are holding off on recruitment, inflation has all but doubled, and the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) having already halved the growth figure for 2025, the Chancellor offered nothing for the third largest employer in the country, who contribute billions every year in taxes to support the public sector. 'To help the economy to grow, you need business to grow, so today we yet again see the sector let down by Rachel Reeves. The crippling increase in employers national insurance contributions handed down in April is now one of the biggest strains on hospitality, along with the high VAT (value-added tax) rate. I guess asking the government to U-turn twice in a week would have been too much to ask.' The Federation of Small Businesses meanwhile said the Spending Review left its members 'wondering when they will feel the benefits', noting that it was 'not the business-focused day they had hoped for'. However, policy chair Tina McKenzie noted that the 'one major bright spot for small firms' was the 'the significant increase in resources to the British Business Bank, which FSB campaigned for in advance of today's statement'. 'This should see far more finance flowing to local businesses up and down the country,' she added. Sandy Begbie, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise, said the Spending Review 'underlines the reality of the economic situation we find ourselves in'. He noted that businesses 'instinctively understand the fiscal constraints facing the Government and the difficult decisions required, but also the need for long-term strategic thinking that will deliver certainty and opportunity for both taxpayers and business'. However, Mr Begbie warned that 'current inflationary pressures, coupled with stagnant productivity and increasing levels of tax pose significant headwinds to business investment'. He added: 'With taxes at a 70 year high in the UK, and higher still in Scotland, it is vital the UK Government recognises that it cannot tax its way to long-term, sustainable growth.'
North Wales Chronicle
a day ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Tottenham close to agreement with Brentford over Thomas Frank appointment
Spurs sacked Ange Postecoglou on Friday – 16 days after he led them to Europa League success – and quickly set their sights on Frank. After positive initial talks over the weekend, confidence started to grow on Monday that Frank would be the man to replace Postecoglou and Tottenham made an official approach to their Premier League rivals later in the day. "One of the best stories in English football" 💬 We sat down with Thomas Frank to get his review of the 2024/25 season as we secured a second top ten finish in three years ⤵️ — Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) May 30, 2025 Discussions continued into Tuesday and centred on Frank's contract at Brentford, which runs until the summer of 2027 and contains a release clause reported to be in the region of £10million. Talks are set to enter Wednesday, but an agreement between Spurs and Brentford over a compensation package to appoint Frank is close, PA understands. Further progress is required over Frank's backroom staff and how many will follow the Danish coach to Tottenham. The 51-year-old would take over a Spurs side which won the Europa League last month but finished 17th in the Premier League. One of the first decisions he would be faced with if appointed concerns the future of Tottenham captain Son Heung-min. A post shared by Son HeungMin(손흥민)🇰🇷 (@hm_son7) Son had a 12-month option in his current contract triggered in January. 'I still have one more year left on the contract,' Son said on Tuesday, as reported by Korean agency Yonhap. 'Rather than saying anything at this moment, I think we should all wait and see what happens.'
Leader Live
a day ago
- Leader Live
Tottenham close to agreement with Brentford over Thomas Frank appointment
Spurs sacked Ange Postecoglou on Friday – 16 days after he led them to Europa League success – and quickly set their sights on Frank. After positive initial talks over the weekend, confidence started to grow on Monday that Frank would be the man to replace Postecoglou and Tottenham made an official approach to their Premier League rivals later in the day. "One of the best stories in English football" 💬 We sat down with Thomas Frank to get his review of the 2024/25 season as we secured a second top ten finish in three years ⤵️ — Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) May 30, 2025 Discussions continued into Tuesday and centred on Frank's contract at Brentford, which runs until the summer of 2027 and contains a release clause reported to be in the region of £10million. Talks are set to enter Wednesday, but an agreement between Spurs and Brentford over a compensation package to appoint Frank is close, PA understands. Further progress is required over Frank's backroom staff and how many will follow the Danish coach to Tottenham. The 51-year-old would take over a Spurs side which won the Europa League last month but finished 17th in the Premier League. One of the first decisions he would be faced with if appointed concerns the future of Tottenham captain Son Heung-min. A post shared by Son HeungMin(손흥민)🇰🇷 (@hm_son7) Son had a 12-month option in his current contract triggered in January. 'I still have one more year left on the contract,' Son said on Tuesday, as reported by Korean agency Yonhap. 'Rather than saying anything at this moment, I think we should all wait and see what happens.'
